"Cement" is the second single from British rock band Feeder's critically acclaimed 1997 album ''

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''. In addition to reaching number 53 on the UK Singles Chart, it also charted at number 31 on the US ''

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chart.

Critical reception

The song was released to a very favourable critical reception. ''

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'' rated the single their highest rating of "KKKKK", meaning five stars out of five. They described the song as "haunting, hooky and heavy, in a creepy twisted sort of way" and said that, along with their previous single " Stereo World", the band had "combined the universes of rock credibility and pop sensibility to bit on the perfect single formula". They further noted that the song "grabs you and sends you" and is "gorgeous". In 2005, the same magazine included the song in its list of the band's "Past Glories"−an eight song list of the band's "classic moments"−where they referred to the song as a "pristine

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single" and "a criminally forgotten Feeder classic". In the same month, Drowned in Sound commented the song, along with "

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", had "drive" and "passion".

Music video

The music video for ''Cement'' was directed by Jon Klien and is set almost entirely in a grimy, dimly-lit bedroom set with windows similar to those seen in the

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in the ''

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'' films. It flashes between band performance and frontman

Grant Nicholas Grantley Jonathan Nicholas (born 12 November 1967) is a Welsh musician and the lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Feeder. In 2014, Nicholas released his debut solo album '' Yorktown Heights.'' In the following year, a released a min ...

indulging in various unhinged, obsessive activities relating to his love interest in the video which loosely relate to the song's lyrics. This includes spying on the girl with a camera as she walks down the street and constructing a model of her, which (in his mind at least) comes to life, and hand-peeling the shell off an egg.

B-sides

Amongst the singles'

B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

are re-recordings of the two tracks from their debut release, "Two Colours", while "Rush" was at first a studio demo before the released version is a "live" take, which was recorded in a studio with the crowd effects added afterwards. It was originally recorded for a compilation called ''Home Truths''. This was also their first coloured vinyl release. The song refers to “sexual obsession”.

Track listings

CD1 # "Cement" – 3:18 # "Chicken on a Bone" (1997 version) – 3:45 # "Forgiven" – 4:40 CD2 # "Cement" – 3:18 # "Pictures of Pain" (1997 version) – 3:46 # "Rush" (live) – 3:46 7-inch red vinyl single # "Cement" – 3:18 # "Pictures of Pain" (1997 version) – 3:46

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 1997 singles 1997 songs The Echo Label singles Elektra Records singles Feeder songs Song recordings produced by Chris Sheldon Songs written by Grant Nicholas