QUIVER

Bands from obcure places around the world are hard to pinpoint, but here is a case from a group from Malaysia.Phlox hail from the country's capital Kuala Lumpur, led by singer, keyboardist and guitarist Hakim Tahar.Hanafi Rahman and Syazwan Sazali handle the electric guitar and bass respectively, while the drumming is a responsibility of Ahmad Zulikhwan.Phlox recorded an EP in 2009 and released their full-length debut ''Quiver'' in 2011, available on Bandcamp.

With a clear tendency on reproducing some of the 70's atmosphere, Phlox propose an attractive, dreamy and extremely psychedelic style of playing with very strong links to the powerful sound of NEKTAR and also references to the always inspiring PINK FLOYD approach.Their tracks are rather simplistic with very good guitar parts, often in a dual mode, producing great grooves and narcotic moods.The use of keyboard effects and the excellent voice of Tahar make them even more irritating.The solid, flawless, almost metronomic rhythm section does a great job and the music alternates between soaring rhythmic passages, low-tempo psychedelic textures with an early-70's vibe and noisy scratching guitar runs, surprisingly all work together for a quite optimistic point of view as a listening experience.Combined with the beautiful vocal lines, the result is often amazing, not very personal, but still offering very good moments.The material is pretty memorable, while a couple of tracks contain even straighter vintage stylings with the use of organ.

Very good debut and certainlty a group to keep an eye on.Energetic, passionate and memorable Psych/Prog with true respect to the old school.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.