3 Ways To Leave,
Phoenix ButterflyI've never quite understood just why bands need to put things out on their own label. I mean is it because no other label will touch them or because they don't trust anybody else with their art? Colchester quartet Phoenix Butterfly have done exactly that by putting out '3 Ways To Leave' on their own 'Phoenix Records' imprint. The band play a brand of rock and roll that's as different as any band out there, mixing melodic grooves with the dynamics of some of the popular post-hardcore bands, mixing up everything from Tool to Radiohead, and Queens of the Stone Age to the delicacies of the bands from the Deep Elm roster - it's complex stuff.
Opening with the title track the band set off as they mean to go on with a complex track that breaks down into several pieces. Vocalist Starkey does have a certain Maynard James Keenan of Tool flavour to him as the guitars and drums crash around him. Track two 'Kindness Lies' is even more of a humdinger, throwing even more melody into the melting pot without coming over as too commerically minded. 'The Drawing' has a more psychedelic feel to it with the vocals wrapping themselves around a slow bass groove, while closer 'Brody's Ocean' builds up and builds up, but at over seven minutes in length it is a little too much for me to stomach.
'3 Ways To Leave' is an interesting record that will probably gain critical acclaim but may be a little too much to stomach for today's MTV generation. It's certainly not a bad EP at all, but I'm still bemused as to why it's out on their own label...
Paul
