As has been said before, you're rarely let down by a band associated with Memphis Industries, and this proved to be the case with New Zealanders The Phoenix Foundation who released their excellent synth-pop single 'The Captain' earlier this year. It turns out there's more to them than that though. The Wellington group released their album 'Fandango' at the end of April, and far from being more synth-pop or different variations on the same theme, they've shown that their songwriting and musical skills stretch further afield, as evidenced by current single 'Thames Soup' which, if you knew know better, you could easily be convinced is a different band entirely.
The vocals are a constant and these connect the songs which will ensure that the album doesn't feel like a hotch-potch of ideas all stuck on a disc together, but gone is the sound they made on 'The Captain'. Synths are still here, but now they're pushed to the back and the starring role is handed to guitars instead. With an insistent, driving bassline, the guitar lines delicately weave their way through the song, rather than announcing themselves with a bang. This technique gives a pleasant smoothness to the track and allows those vocals to become the main focus of attention. Want labels? Well you could call this indie/pop I suppose, but it matters little, the band don't seem fussed about sticking a certain label to their sound, and if they keep coming up with the good then there's no reason why we should either.
The Phoenix Foundation's website
Stream the album in full
Buy the album
Catch them live:
12 - July - Auckland - The Powerstation
19 - July - Christchurch - The Bedford @ CPSU
20 - July - Dunedin - Queens
21 - July - Dunedin - Chicks Hotel - NEW SHOW!!!
26 - July - Napier - The Cabana
27 - July - Wellington - James Cabaret
For more news, reviews and downloads follow The Sound Of Confusion on Facebook or Twitter
contact@thesoundofconfusion.com
No comments:
Post a Comment