PHIDEAUX XAVIER: FRICTION

The debut album from Phideaux is really some of the worst prog rock I have ever heard in my life. I have many ugly words in my vocabulary that I would like to say, but out of respect for the ones who like this album, I will try and keep this review clinical.

The music on this album, can be described as soft prog rock with almost no surprises. It´s very boring and way way too long. My God there are 20 songs on the album. It´s been quite a challenge to get through. It´s way too soft and trivial for me. The singer Phideaux Xavier has a good voice though and I know that Phideaux will get better later as I have just listened to their new album Doomsday Afternoon which I think is really good.

The sound quality is also something that drags this album down. It´s not very clear. I also have a big problem with the female background singing which is just dreadful. But the worst part is the song Inspecting the Spoils which is some kind of ballad. It´s so cheesy that I had to swallow a couple of times to be sure my supper didn´t come up again. The organ sound is very much like the one used in christian churches or on Mariah Carrey or Whitney Houston albums. This is really horrible and even though this is prog rock I can´t understand who would want to listen to this album.

The lyrics are for the most part stupid childish rhymes about nothing, and when they are not of this sort, I think I hear some christian leanings. This is where I say stop. I can live with christian lyrics if the music is exciting, but when it´s like this, the lyrics just helps to drag the album from 2 small stars to 1. This is not recommendable, but after all it is a debut and as I said before I know Phideaux will get better with time.