Highly Entertaining
Mr Peabody | 3rd house on the left | 05/26/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is my first Phideaux album but not likely to be my last. I found the Artist description and Editorial Review on Amazon's page to be spot on. This band is hard to describe and to compare to anyone. I think they will appeal to those who enjoy Progressive Rock or those who want more substance to their music, tired of the same commercial box music. Phideaux is a mix of instrumental variety, clever lyrics and melodies that seem to work well together through the talent of the band members. I gave this album a 5 and it deserves it, I can put Fiendish on and listen all the way through without skipping a track or getting bored. The album is a highly entertaining musical journey. The description suggests Phideaux is a long the vein of Pink Floyd, I feel only in one has to be ready to experience that same level of complexity and pace. This is not a sleepy album or dull, it has plenty to keep your attention, it just is not a heavy or aggressive delivery. The melodies, vocals and accompaniment are delivered in the pace and manner to make them work for the song and the atmosphere being created by the song. Actually the main vocalist sometimes reminds me of Michael Snipe (REM) in his vocal delivery. Many of the songs do feature female backing vocals. I question if "backing vocals" is accurate because they are really more than that, more part of the song than just backing. The description on Amazon draws a comparison to Polyphonic Sprees and that may be accurate when discussing the females vocal part but no offense meant to the Sprees, Phideaux is a more developed tighter band that I feel goes in a different direction with what they do. Unfortunately Phideaux is too good for you to probably ever hear them on your local radio station so you will have to take a chance on them and discover there is music that can take you beyond the norm and still be very good, very entertaining."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1
