The Phoenix Foundation

Fandango
Memphis Industries

Fandango is the fifth album from New Zealand’s psychedelic indie pop pioneers The Phoenix Foundation. With a sound blessed with beautiful melodies set amidst lush soundscapes, they have crafted their unique style over the course of their previous four albums with a loving attention to detail.

The Phoenix Foundation mines a rich vein of classic pop, as in Modern Rock and, to a lesser extent, Thames Soup. That hard-to-achieve blend of euphoria and melancholy is deployed with ease throughout, giving the sense of a band that is stylistically in control of their sound. The magnificently sprawling Sideways Glance is a mini-masterpiece, taking several twists and turns before ending with hand claps and a solitary bass note. Atmospheric and lyrically interesting, The Phoenix Foundation is in the right place at the right time to make a huge dent in the public consciousness.

Like all the best music, Fandango takes you to another place. The album is 78 minutes of gorgeous, glorious pop that makes a real statement of intent. www.thephoenixfoundation.co.nz.

Matt Swain