Labels: Newest Industry
Review by: Alex Deller
Now that much of Gainesville seems to have shuffled under an enormous cowboy hat it might be prudent for those of us fond of husky, poorly-shaven men impersonating Leatherface and Husker Du to cast our gaze to other places for such sounds. In my eyes, Finland gets the vote. Following on from the delights of Manifesto Jukebox and I Walk The Line trundle the Phoenix Foundation, ditching the boozy clatter of the latter and yelling “down with Kirsch! Long live Stubbs!” to the former in order to rustle up some dandy tunes of their own.
Once the sluggish “To A Lost Friend’ is out of the way it’s all up, up and away for the Phoenix Foundation, cranking up the speed and hurtling along with untrammelled glee as they bash out raspy, melodic punk that’s rammed to the gunwales with ringing, open chords, rough-hewn hollers and lyrics about friends who’ve upped and left along the way. Closer “Long Time Ago’ tones down the Leatherface homage, starting with an acoustic strum and sounding more like “Candy Apple Grey’ than “Metal Circus’, which is pretty chipper as far as I’m concerned.
Like all good listens the time spent in their company is barely enough, but the repeat button is a happy option. Thanks indeed to the Phoenix Foundation, now hurry yourselves along and write some more”¦