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[one_half last=”yes”]PHOX
Phox
Release-Date: 29.08.2014
Label: Partisan Records
Tracklist:
01. Calico Man
02. Leisure
03. Slow Motion
04. 1936
05. Evil
06. Laura
07. Kingfisher
08. Shrinking Violets
09. Satyr and the Faun
10. Noble Heart
11. Raspberry Seed
12. In Due Time
NBHAP Rating: 4/5
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Sensual sweetness
American newcomers PHOX are the latest band to combine sweet and tender chamber-pop-like music with a solid indie-pop foundation. It’s like LONDON GRAMMAR with less pathos and ARTHUR BEATRICE with more complexity. Piano-driven slow burners carried by the distinctive voice of singer Monica Marin. Her vocals prepresent the torch guiding us through melancholic darkness.
Strings, flutes and folk music
For a debut album the longplayer of the Wisconsin-based six-piece comes with a highly professional sound. And it’s a sound that loves big gestures and rich instrumentation but always with honesty and a quite believable approach. Even if tracks like Leisure or the sweet ballad Laura drench in strings they are far from sounding cheesy. The combined elements work quite harmonic in exchange, even the banjo.
One for everybody
Approaching a big audience with your music is always a tricky one. The self-titled debut of PHOX somehow manages to accept this challenge without sounding forced or over-produced despite its slick production. It might be Marin’s voice who brings a certain amount of authenticity into the equation. It’s a fair mixture of melancholia and uplifting fun that these guys have to offer; an offer you should not decline.
PHOX and their self-titled debut album deliver gentle folk-pop with an unforced mainstream approach and a lot of honesty. Music for everybody in the most positive sense.
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