NUMBER SEVEN

Phideaux

Crossover Prog

4.03 | 596 ratings

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R-A-N-M-A

- - - The Atomic Dormouse's Rocky Day at Crawfish Beach - - -

Number 7, the seventh album by Phideaux? You don't say. A quick gripe here, if there is one naming trend that is played out it's just numbering your albums and not naming them. They can't all have the succinct memory engraining elegance of "Thick as a Brick" or "Dark Side of the Moon." Even something like "The Atomic Dormouse's Rocky Day at Crawfish Beach" would have been acceptable. In fact, I'll call it that from now on. TADRDACB for short (Pron. Tad-Rad-A-Cab).

Moving on, TADRDACB is a wonderful album. It must tell a story somewhere in there. I'm just not really certain what it is. There is a shrew, evolution, a crayfish, nuclear war, cheese, the universe at large and all other manners of goings on. So it's a concept album, the concept is just a little obtuse. This means to really get the full experience out TADRDACB you have to listen to it in one go. Do so and you shall be rewarded with a moody atmospheric ride through err? whatever's going on. As with everything Phideaux and his pals do the vocals and keyboards steal the show from the rest of the still more than competent accompaniment. Awesome lyrics spaced throughout this sucker. Odious Spore of Doom indeed!

Where does this album go above and beyond? Why should you run out and get it? Let's fire it off with Waiting for the Axe to Fall. Love at first earshot, this track introduces the musical themes and the heavy feel of the album. It transitions well into the good but not quite as great Hive Mind that together dominate the early phase of the album. Also good are the soft spoken Darkness at Noon and Prequiem.

There is an honourable mention here for the combination of Interview with a Dormouse and Thermonuclear Cheese. Yeah, what the heck eh? But you'll never ever hear a deep choral rendition of the line "Therrrmo-NOOclear Cheese" ever again. After that comes some of that ever loved towering synths I read so much about in the papers.

The next time after Waiting for the Axe to fall that I felt my eardrums really snap to attention is the oddly mesmerizing intro to The Search for Terrestrial Life. Following the intro's eccentricities it comes back to some more familiar sound-scapes, but remains superb. The following sequence is the strongest part of the album and it comes to captivating finally in Infinite Supply. This one is chilling, emotional and explosive, five out of five no questions asked here.

All in all, we have a very worthwhile collection of interwoven tracks. It isn't consistent in its excellence; however nothing ranks worse than good. Four out of five of my personalities agree TADRDACB is a keeper.

R-A-N-M-A | 4/5 | 2009-12-5

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