Pheonix23, It’s A Blast EP
Posted on 22nd Sep 10 by Paul Groome | 
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I don’t get this at all. Pheonix23 are a five piece lineup from Belfast who’ve been knocking around for the past three years or so, were noticed by Carl Yerheyeh, guitarist with Supertramp. Carl invited the band to LA to record their debut album in Sunset Studios. Bernard Matthews was flown in for production duties [...]
I don’t get this at all. Pheonix23 are a five piece lineup from Belfast who’ve been knocking around for the past three years or so, were noticed by Carl Yerheyeh, guitarist with Supertramp. Carl invited the band to LA to record their debut album in Sunset Studios. Bernard Matthews was flown in for production duties following his success with Sheryl Crowe, Ice-T and Earth, Wind and Fire. And they materialised from the studio a few weeks later with their debut album tightly clasped in their fist. Fairly impressive stuff there, right? Absolutely! Their CV is impeccable and their debut album is about to drop. Magic.
Phoenix 23
So musically, I was expecting something really outstanding. The production is great, without question. But I had to listen to it a few times to get my head around their overall musical identity as a band, and I just can’t pin it down completely. There’s the obvious Eagles influences throughout, but nothing that really makes that style of music their own. This just isn’t my bag at all being honest.
They are all very accomplished musicians and the songs are well written. Catchy melody, sing-along choruses, all that good stuff. Everything is just too bland. They’d probably do really well on the Christian Rally circuit. (Hey, it worked for Kings Of Leon…) It’s just something I’d expect to find in Pat Kennys car stereo.
Outside My Window is a cuddly love song that’s almost a parody of itself. And songs like ‘If Elvis‘ are a little bit too ‘Candle In The Wind‘ for my liking. The one exception to the rule, is Hit The Ground Running. I don’t know whether this is considered by Pheonix23 fans as being a really good tune or a clanger, but I think it’s deadly. It’s like a really clever Queens Of The Stoneage tune.
If the band were ever at a creative crossroads, this is the direction they could be heading in. All the other tunes have been done a million times over.
All that said, they’re embarking on a US tour and are getting fairly wide coverage in the media if the Press section of their website is used as a reference point. Clearly a lot of people out there love them, just not me.
Drop-d Rating: 3/10
Tags: Bernard Matthews, Carl Yerheyeh, christian rock, Eagles, leonie donegan, Pheonix23, queens of the stoneage, Supertramp