QUIVER

This PHLOX is a progressive psychedelic space rock band from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and not to be confused with the jazz-fusion band from Estonia with the same name. This band formed in 2008 and came together while the members were experiencing insomnia as college students. The members are Ahmad Zulikhwan (drums, percussion), Syazwan Sazali (bass), Hanafi Rahman (guitars) and Hakim Tahar (vocals, keyboards, acoustic and electric guitars) and to date has only released on EP and two full-length releases all of which are available on Bandcamp.

Following the EP release simply titled "EP" in 2009, PHLOX recorded its debut album QUIVER which was released two years later in 2011 which hosts ten well produced space rock tracks that offer a nice melodic flow of catchy tunes along with atmospheric keyboards, lush acoustic guitars in the vein of "Wish You Were Here" era Pink Floyd along with the occasional electric guitar soloing. Many tracks echo a folky vibe as the chord progressions are generally pop oriented with catchy grooves and nice progressions. The title track appears as a three part series with the first beginning the album, the second serving as an intermission in the middle and the third providing the outro. These tracks are the trippiest and allow the most experimental.

There's a nice range of styles on QUIVER although the main emphasis is on the space rock textures. "Quiver (Part One)" begins the album with a hypnotic repetitive flow of a clean guitar progression and chilled out drum roll which sets the tone for the entire album as it instantly provides a melodic hook accompanied by sailing atmospheres and trippy sound effects. "Speak To Me" follows and displays the more rock oriented side of the band with electric guitar riffs and a faster tempo in the vein of heavier Pink Floyd styles but the band does not sound like Floyd at all and provides a unique mix of pop hooks with some progressive elements that make this sound unique. Hakim Tahar's vocal style is also distinct as its rather reserved but very emotive as well.

"High & Low" continues the faster tempo but dishes out a healthy supply of tripped out effects that recall some of the space whispers of Gilli Smyth from Gong and some effects that wouldn't sound out of place on the "Radio Gnome Trilogy." "Morning Dreams" is a short ditty that has a Hawaiian type of slack key guitar strumming session with some extra spaced out keyboard effects. "Quiver (Part Two)" is the longest track just shy of the eight minute mark and finds the main melody of the first track making a reprise and crafts a much longer song with vocals as well as more variations in the theme. "Everything Kills You" also has a Polynesian slack key guitar folky strum accompanied by trippy keys and Floydish guitar parts as well and sort of leads into "Where You Go" which is so catchy it could be a pop hit. On the same level as some of the crossover prog of 70s Supertramp. Great melodies.

The remaining tracks pretty much follow the established pattern with the final chapter of "Quiver" is actually very noisy and aggressive. This is a really fun album! It's one of those joyful type of space rock albums and not dark and dreary at all. The melodic pop hooks make this instantly catchy and the spaced out effects keep this soaring with atmospheric downpours while there's just enough rock to keep this from becoming dream pop as well as subtle progressive elements to keep the tracks from becoming cheesy. The one element that sounds utterly unique for a space rock band is the inclusion of the Hawaiian slack key guitar strumming parts which may or may not be a thing in Malaysia which is a unique mix of cultures from the surrounding areas however those are short segments and the majority of this album is set on spaced out mode. Very strong debut and i love this!