Feelies: The joy of a band bouncing back

When Crazy Rhythms, the Feelies' first album, came out in 1980, it was deeply loved by a small set of devotees, but it fit awkwardly into the pop music landscape of the time. The intricate but minimalist percussion, the interlocking, tightly wound guitars, the understated, undemonstrative vocals - characteristics derived from the Velvet Underground - were anomalies amid the aggressive post-punk and the arty, quirky New Wave that dominated the New York scene that they frequented.

But the Feelies albums have held up better than many of their more-popular contemporaries.

"Actually, Dave and I were just talking about that this morning," singer/guitarist Glenn Mercer says from his home in Haledon, N.J., referring to percussionist Dave Weckerman. "He mentioned he saw the Lene Lovich video for 'Lucky Number' and how quirky it was and how weird. I said, well, back then everything was like that: Talking Heads and Devo had that angle. Maybe Crazy Rhythms would not have sounded quite as unusual then if it had been the same songs in a different period. Then he pointed out a lot of that stuff does sound dated, but Crazy Rhythms doesn't because the songs weren't so dependent on that particular approach."

When The Good Earth, their more-acoustic second album, finally came out in 1986, the landscape had shifted. R.E.M. was popular among the college rock set, and R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck helped produce the album. While the album fit in better with its contemporaries, the Feelies remained favorites of critics more than of the general record-buying public.

They released two more albums, then parted ways in the early '90s. But 2008 saw a reunion, and the band, including hard-strumming guitarist Bill Million, bassist Brenda Sauter, and drummer Stan Demeski, comes to World Cafe Live Saturday night.

Although logistics make tours difficult - Million lives in Florida, Sauter in Pennsylvania, their soundman in Arizona - Mercer says the Feelies are fully back together, and the plan is to start work on an album. They don't want to be just a nostalgia act.

"We talked about it when we first got together. The idea of just doing some reunion shows had its appeal, but was sort of a little too much of the nostalgia. We wanted to make it a real band. I guess we are now, as much as any band. The only difference is that we don't live that close together, so we don't do it as often as we'd like."

Feelies shows are still rare, so Saturday's is a treat. It will include two sets, the first more acoustic than the second, and no doubt a bunch of covers in the encores.

Mercer is thrilled that the band is attracting young fans, too.

"The best part is seeing the reaction of the crowd, the smiles," he says.