I first stumbled across PHOX about a year ago when I heard their song "1936" on an obscure indie folk playlist. Of all of the songs listed in the playlist, it was "1936" that really peaked my interest. I listened to it for like 2 weeks, and eventually I was like, "I should check out this band!" However, after hearing most of their songs and not really feeling anything towards it, I startedI first stumbled across PHOX about a year ago when I heard their song "1936" on an obscure indie folk playlist. Of all of the songs listed in the playlist, it was "1936" that really peaked my interest. I listened to it for like 2 weeks, and eventually I was like, "I should check out this band!" However, after hearing most of their songs and not really feeling anything towards it, I started to think that PHOX might just be a one hit wonder for me. But for whatever reason I always came back to PHOX, listening to more and more of their music and eventually things started to click.
When did things start to click? is was when I listened to "Leisure", a beautifully warm song that just made me feel all cozy, and just sets such a great atmosphere in general. And after falling for "Leisure" I began to fall in love with practically all of PHOX's other songs too. "Kingfisher" and "Shrinking Violets" became two of my favorites from the album. It's also cool, they have a song called "Raspberry seed" and in my opinion it's very reminiscent of the iconic song, "Stairway to Heaven."
Another thing worth mentioning about this album is that it flows incredibly well! The way that "Calico Man" transitions into "Leisure" is seamless. Additionally, the final song on the album, "In Due Time" is such a perfect song to end the album with. It wraps up the whole album with a nice little bow.
Monica's vocals really deserve special praise for this album, because her voice is what brings the song to life. Her vocalizations are unreal. I'd direct some interested people to hear the last minute of "Slow Motion", because it does a great job of showing off her incredible range.
The instrumentals on PHOX are extremely varied and inject the album with folky goodness. However, to no fault of the supporting instruments, I find that the album could have benefitted even more if the songs had stronger instrumentals. It's not that they are particularly bad, but they definitely have a tough act to follow because they're in charge of supporting Martins incredibly unique voice. I'm really excited for PHOX's next album though, because I have this great feeling that the bands instrumental has gotten better and will be more memorable by the next album.
It may have taken me a while to warm up to PHOX, but once I did, I think I began to appreciate music in general just a bit more. I'm also very excited to hear how this band's sound evolves for their next album!… Expand
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