Cat No : ZEN010 Release Date : 20/06/2004 BUY THIS CDEP NOW! DOWNLOAD FROM iTUNES! THE PHOENIX FOUNDATION's latest EP finds them moving slightly away from the explosive, LEATHERFACE-esque punk they busted out of the gate with on last year's These Days LP and moving toward a more varied, restrained take on the sound a la MEGA CITY FOUR. The heavy guitars, passionate vocals and great songwriting are still there, but they're augmented with more and more sophisticated changes in tempo and a little bit of high-end (dare I say it?) jangle in the guitars. After getting through the slow and slightly difficult opening track, "To a Lost Friend" (which reminds me a lot of BROCCOLI's "Home" LP in that it has all the trademarks of music I should love yet just doesn't seem to let me in), the Phoenix foundation lay down the gas pedal and keep things punk for the entire middle portion of the EP. The fifth track, "Seeds," in particular is a brilliant, propulsive song with beautiful layered guitars and gripping vocals. The EP finishes with a slower track that uses lots of acoustic guitars and places the vocalist's deep, smooth vocals more to the front of the mix than any other track. In retrospect, "We Need to Make Some Changes" is more punk rock than I thought it was, but by beginning and ending the EP with the two slowest songs on the disc THE PHOENIX FOUNDATION leave me with the impression that this EP breaks the mold of the band's previous work a little more than it really does. Whether that's a good or a bad thing is entirely a matter of taste, but regardless of how you feel about the songs that bookend this release, the bulk of "We Need to Make Some Changes" is exactly the kind of punk rock that you will flip over if you've been as enamoured with the Newest Industry's past releases as I have - Review from DFB Punk. Recorded November, 2003 at Red House Studios by Danil Venho. 01. To a Lost Friend 02. Dawn Will Fade Away 03. Rain 04. We Need To Make Some Changes 05. Seeds (Download MP3) 06. Long Time Ago Newest Industry Records / © 2007