DOOMSDAY AFTERNOON

This release from 2007 demonstrated how far Phideaux had come. The music has the trademark prog stamp all over it, great story line, multi layered sounds, even dare I say it some cheesy lyrics at times. For this reviewer the album can be best critiqued in two parts. First the music, which is beautifully held together by solid musicianship, complex yet accessible sounscapes and classic keyboard and horn sections. The lap steel guitar by Gabriel Moffat especially makes pleasurable listening. " The Doctrine of Eternal Ice Part two" undeniably the highlight off the album.

The second part of this release is the vocals and lyrics which sadly take too long before really getting off the ground. Whilst understanding the conceptual work on display here, the lyrics at times seem a bit too naive and the lead vocals are not too strong. This is remedied however with the wonderful backing vocalists, Linda Maldawsky and Molly Ruttan providing some much needed balance to the proceedings. Overall this is a great progressive album but in summary far more strong musically than vocally. Very much a modern day Renaissance sound, reference Kiev off the Prologue album. Three solid stars.