EP

Finally Phlox are in the Archives, and I'm glad for them, because they are a young and talented band who deserves to be listened by more of us. Not to be confused with the Fusion band from Estonia, this Phlox are from Malaysia, and have a soft and mellow rock with some psychedelic hints, of course touching the prog rock realm. Their first release was this "EP" which saw the light in 2009, consisting of 5 short tracks that make a total time of 19 minutes.

The first track is "The Return of the Almighty Pharaoh" and it is the shortest one. An introductory song that does not really shows what Phlox's music is about; this piece is kind of creepy, with some disturbing noises like in a horror film. It finishes, then a 2-second pause and the music returns now with "The Almighty Pharaoh", a song that now offers their essence, their mellow style. We can listen to both, female and male vocals, while an acoustic guitar makes the rhythm, and electric plays some cool notes. The sound is fresh, not far from alt-indie rock, but nor from prog rock either.

"Switch" has once again a fresh sound, they remind me a bit of Stereolab due to its psych and alt hints, and in the last 30 seconds we can listen to a "la, la, la" that is very sticky, easy to remember and sing; I like it." The longest track is "Survive" which almost reaches 6 minutes. It starts with electric guitars making a repetitive and melancholic sound, after some seconds the acoustic one joins, and then bass and drums, all together begin to create a structure, but wait, at 1:30 the music changes and becomes friendlier, with a very tasty sound that will put a smile on your face. A very nice song.

The EP finishes with "Inside, Outside" which later would be part of their first studio album "Quiver". This may be my favorite track here, the keyboards play a main role here, I like its psychedelic touches and how the first minute is so enigmatic; later the other instruments join and create the melody, which is enchanted by the vocals. The song perfectly flows, creating a great harmony and a truly wonderful sound, which means the band has spirit and talent, and that later they would give us material to talk about. A very nice debut EP from Phlox, recommendable for those who like mellow pyshc music. Don't pay attention to the final grade, I don't use to rate with more than 2 stars albums that last 20-less minutes.

Enjoy it!