Waterslide / Boss Tuneage / Best Seller (2017)
First off, I should point out that this isn't the Phoenix Foundation band from New Zealand. I don't know anything about those dudes other than they sure come up a lot when you're searching for the Phoenix Foundation Bandcamp page. I'm sure they're nice guys and all, but the record I'm writing about is by the Phoenix Foundation from Finland.
I first heard of these guys as a recommendation since I liked the band Manifesto Jukebox. I picked up a CD of theirs that came out back in 2003. It was good stuff, really fiery and fast. For whatever reason, they kind of fell off my radar after that. I picked up the occasional single and EP, but I never grabbed another one of their full lengths. I guess they were one of those bands that ware harder for me to keep tabs on.
Fast forward to this year and Phoenix Foundation's newest release Closer is back on my radar thanks to Waterslide records. I can say this is a band that has gone through some changes since 2003. The entire tempo of the record has calmed way down since their ballistic debut. It's for the better really. With a slightly slower pace, the songs have more freedom to expand and the hooks have more time to build and get lodged in your head. Before, things would rush by so fast you couldn't always grab each subtle nuance. This time out the songwriting quality is much more obvious because you have time to hear the details.
The band still has an obvious debt to the gravel throated, Leatherface style of punk rock. But, like Leatherface, The Phoenix Foundation has become more confident in their craft. Closer is a really outstanding record. If there's one complaint I have, I just wish it was even longer.
The Phoenix Foundation - Closer:
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