I didn’t review the last Orange album, but what I did hear made me think ‘they sound like they should be on Hellcat’…
If you think that listening to ‘Phoenix’ then there’s something wrong with you. Sure, the band still have that Rancid/Social Distortion vibe, but whereas the band previously did their thing and stuck to it, this time round the band do mix it up a bit. The one-rick-ponyism that hanuted them on previous records has gone, replaced with a melodic edge which will certainly see them get more airplay on the likes of Mike Davies’ Radio 1 punk show, for instance. And the choice of cover is not only inspired, but also suits the band’s ‘new’ style real well.
The lyrics are hopeful throughout, despite vocalist Joe’s battle with Cystic Fibrosis, and that adds to the band’s new multi-dimensional sound. Previously I got a bit bored by them. Now I don’t. I read another review that said this was the band’s version of ‘Insomniac’ by Green Day. While I don’t agree in terms of sound, I do agree in terms of thought process. This is a fun, melodic record with an old-skool twist. And you could do a lot worse than to give it a whirl.