Phoenix - Renascent Phenomenon

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Phoenix - Renascent Phenomenon

Artist:	Phoenix
Title:	Renascent Phenomenon
Label:	Polumnia P015
Length(s):	minutes
Year(s) of release:	2003
Month of review:	[02/2004]

Line up

Mathilde Roza - vocals, piano, strings, manual sequence, synth, keyboards
Jos Hustings - vocals, strings, synths, keyboards, guitar, drums, bass, sound effect, composition, lyrics

Tracks

1)	Renascent Phenomenon	1.13
2)	Death By Loving	2.45
3)	Symptoms Of A Dawning Love	4.07
4)	For A Change	5.54 MP3
5)	Day After Night	4.10
6)	In Between	3.40
7)	Calamity	4.55
8)	Hereafter	5.04
9)	Direction Anywhere	4.42
10)	To A Square	4.30
11)	Operation: Weekly Friday's Obsession	3.26
12)	It Makes Me Laugh	2.30
13)	Until Eternity	5.16
14)	I Am Noone	2.59
15)	2nd Fantasy's Movement	2.55
16)	Ever So Incomplete	2.52

Summary

Jos Hustings was involved with bands such as the Dutch progressive band Kracq from the late seventies (I do not have their album, it is quite expensive on vinyl when you find it; it has has been rereleased by Polumnia last year, so that's a relief). This album has a note Archives 4: 1970/71, but it also seems that it has just been recorded. Do these years refer then to when the music was written? When looking at the website it seems Phoenix originally died in late 1970, so this is something you might expect. Or maybe this is a continuation of some kind. I apologize for not spelling the group name as I should: in Greek letters.

The music

After a dark and slightly orchestral and dissonant intro we arrive at the first vocal track, Death By Loving. The vocals are vocoded here, and the atmosphere evoked has elements of Genesis (the guitar), but also of James Angell (especially in the vocals) with a sense of longing. However, the main references I can name are Bevis Frond, Peter Hammill and Roy Harper: a 'different' kind of singer/songwriter music. The vocal melodies are quite good.

On Symptoms Of A Dawning Love the hazy vocals continue to take the lead. The drum sound is a rather bare here, giving a more gothic impression on the whole. On For A Change, the vocals are taken over by Mathilde Roza. The organ has quite a proggy feel, the drums pound, but not too loudly. They do sound programmed. With Roza taking over vocal duty, do not think the music becomes less strange: it does not. I do have the feeling that the music tends more to the psychedelic now, and the keyboards and synths also give it a gloomy tinge of Tangerine Dream.

Hammill returns on Day After Night. The vocals of Hustings are quite a bit lower generally, and he does not change his voice that much between sentences, but the similarities are there. And the songs fit into PHs mold as well (that is, the PH of some time ago). The acoustic guitar figures quite prominently on the Phoenix tracks.

In Between is a slow ponderous and melodic track, quite typical for this album: slow acoustic come through, the vocals are full of longing and melodic, and the production is a hazy sheen over the music. The melodies are mainly formed by (the vocals and) the synths, which only add to the longing feel.

Calamity opens with repetitive almost inaudible...well what would it be? The vocals are slow are slurred, the drums sound real this time. The song is quite scary sounding at times, with a strong bass line in the middle and weird effects throughout.

Hereafter is one of the longer and more orchestral tracks. The drums sound a bit tinny again. I guess the best thing to do is to use them as least possible. The melodies are quite strong again, but subdued, so you'd have to listen well. After the soft toned Direction Anywhere, we arrive at To A Square, in which the Hammill influences are strongest. Hustings voice is not so powerful as that of Hammill, listen to that guitar for instance. A bit too much meandering here.

Operation: Weekly Friday's Obsession has a weird title. The programmed percussion sounds mechanical, but this time it seems to me on purpose. The organ reminds me a bit of the Stranglers. A hazy kind of song. It Makes Me Laugh is dominated by the gothic style monotonous vocals, somewhat along the lines of Gary Numan, but flatter. The sound effects are disorienting, lots of reverb.

Until Eternity on the other hand, is a very airey track, soft spoken with mechanical percussion. A weak track. I Am Noone continues this line of disjointed musical fragments. Well, at last the beat sets in, programmed as often happens. Again, I am not convinced. The music is a bit too straightforward and sounds uninspired.

2nd Fantasy's Movement includes a fragment of the music of Grieg. The vocal melody is a bit stronger again on this one and the melodic interlude by Grieg is also nice. Ever So Incomplete is the moody closer on piano, a bit in the desolate vein of Hammill's Again. A good closer.

Conclusion

On this lo-fi production we hear quite a number of songs in the singer/songwriter with a twist genre. The main references I can hear are to the likes of Bevis Frond and Peter Hammill. Compared to the latter, the vocalist stays somber and subdued, similar to Hugh Cornwell of the Stranglers. Oft-times the melodies are good, and the songs are such that the low level of production are not that much of a problem: it adds to the generally gloomy atmosphere. I found the songs towards the end of the album quite a bit weaker. This should however, not be a reason for Hammill and Roy Harper fans to go and have a listen.