Snowtorch by Phideaux
Phideaux Snowtorch, for some a gap filler for the last album in the quadrology, Infernal. The Great Leap, Doomsday Afternoon, Number 7 and finally Infernal in 2018. What happened in the 9 years between Number 7 and Infernal? Oh yes, the EP Snowtorch was released in 2011. Although it was almost fully grown at 44:44, for me it was still an EP with 4 songs and thematically they fit the quadrology. Some people find it a lame rehash or a use of leftovers, some even criticised Phideaux for having lost his inspiration with Snowtorch. Then let's listen to it again, the cover shows clear signs of wear. Which is actually a good sign. Unfortunately, the price tag has been torn out inside, who puts a price tag on the inside???
The first song is 19:43 long and is divided into 4 parts, Star of Light, Retrograde, Fox on the Rocks and Celestine. It starts off quietly with lots of singing. And again, typical for Phideaux, the lyrics flow in a wonderful melody. I'm just talking about the lyrics! Together with the music, it's really good. The basic structure has been criticized, saying it's too similar and not surprising. In my opinion, this criticism falls short, because it refers to Phideaux albums in which the songs don't have any inner consistency with each other. Chupacabras, Fiendish and 313 are not concept albums like Doomsday Afternoon or Number 7. I prefer to compare Snowtorch with the quadrology to which it thematically fits and belongs. From this perspective, Snowtorch is not boring and certainly not uninspired, on the contrary, it complements it and rounds it off.
My conclusion is clearly not objective. I think Snowtorch is another "brilliant" album by Phideaux and his musicians. And there are many! It is thematically very similar and therefore seems to be of one piece. There are quiet passages, light fiddling in the instrumental parts, epic passages and good singing. Recommended!
Phideaux Xavier: Acoustic Guitar, Piano, Vocals
Matthew Kennedy: Bass Guitar
Stefanie Fife: Cello
Rich Hutschins: Drums
Gabriel Moffat: E-Guitar, Producer
Chris Bleth: Flute, Soprano Saxophone
Johnny Unicorn: Keyboards, Saxophone, Vocals
Mark Sherkus: Keyboards, Piano
Molly Ruttan: Percussion, Vocals
Ariel Farber: Violin, Vocals
Linda Ruttan Moldawsky: Vocals
Valerie Gracious: Vocals
The photos are all from my CD. The rights to all motifs, logos, texts and fonts that can be seen in the photos are of course owned by the copyright holder.
