The Phoenix Foundation "Tom's Lunch" - EP 2014

…Interludes… The band did not tour internationally immediately on the back of the good press, deciding to wait until their next album. The wait wasn’t long: fourth album Buffalo hit the shelves in April 2010. Before that, however, there was the small matter of opening for Jarvis Cocker in Wellington in December 2009 – an opportunity to present the material off their new EP Merry Kriskmass. The EP featured some new material that wasn’t quite right for Buffalo, keeping the band in the public eye. In between Happy Ending and Buffalo there were more solo albums released: Buda’s Vesuvius, and Scott’s Straight Answer Machine. This time Conrad Wedde released his debut album Bronze (as TC Wedde), and Will Ricketts released his album John Dryden (as Wild Bill Ricketts). Scott and Buda also teamed up to write the soundtrack for Separation City, another well-regarded venture into the world of cinematic sound, written by Scott’s father, humourist Tom Scott…

…Buffalo roaming… By 2010, The Phoenix Foundation were no longer on Young American Recordings or Flying Nun/Warners. They were signed to Memphis Industries, and to EMI in New Zealand on a pressing and distribution (P&D) deal, while Slow Boat Records in Wellington released the local vinyl edition on their boutique label. The sessions for album number four, Buffalo, took over 18 months, with recording at rehearsal space The Car Club, and The Surgery, again with Prebble. Most of the material they recorded went on to the album, while other songs – ‘Dickheads Abound’ and ‘Middle Dream’ – became digital bonus tracks. The album tracks were among their strongest, with singles ‘Buffalo’, ‘Flock of Hearts’ and the ghostly ‘Golden Ship’ showing a more elegiac style. During the recording, bassist Warner Emery decided his time was up, and he was replaced by someone close to them: Tom Callwood. On release, Buffalo was another local success and was shortlisted here for the Taite Prize. It received positive international reviews in The Guardian and The Times, among others. The subsequent UK tour and slot at Glastonbury led to a spot playing ‘Buffalo’ and ‘Flock of Hearts’ on Later… with Jools Holland, giving them an immediate profile boost; their album sales increased dramatically in the following weeks.
Modern rock… By now, the group had again changed labels, as EMI had been purchased by Universal. This time, the change worked well. “[New Zealand MD] Adam Holt didn’t put any pressure on us to hold up our end of the deal we signed with EMI,” Scott says. “He was like ‘I’m a fan of the band, this is the contract I’d like to sign you to … I’m really keen to work with the band.’ It’s probably been the best company experience we’ve ever had. It was the opposite of moving from FMR to Warners, where no one seemed to have any interest in the band.”
Almost immediately after returning from the UK, the band began on their fifth album, Fandango. “We realised that it was two years since we had released Buffalo,” Scott explained, “so we thought we’d better get into the new one now, or else it’s going to be a really long gap between albums.”
Fandango took 15 months from start to finish, and was recorded in a variety of locations: Roundhead Studios, The Car Club, The Surgery, The Party Room in Dunedin, and in a barn on Tarureka Estate in Featherston. While Prebble was again involved with the recording, Brett Stanton and Neil Baldock also played their parts – Prebble and Stanton winning the NZ Music Awards for best producer and best engineer.
The band were meticulous about trying out ideas. “We have a policy – any idea that comes up has to be tried,” Scott admits, adding, “which … ultimately means that … a lot of things which sound like they’re not going to work in theory do end up sounding pretty good once you go through the process … it takes a lot of work and focus.” In the usual tradition of Phoenix Foundation albums, the group lost a band member, this time drummer Richie Singleton, who was replaced by Chris O’Connor (Don McGlashan’s Seven Sisters, SJD band). Both drummers feature on the album.
Fandango was previewed from start to finish at showcase gigs in Wellington in January 2013. Released the following April, the band’s experimental and diverse influences are present: Can, Amon Düül, Harmonia, and The Carpenters. A double album, Fandango encompassed polished pop (‘The Captain’), motoric rhythms (‘Black Mould’), and psychedelic folk (‘Corale’). The experimental,17-minute  ‘Friendly Society’ – with Neil Finn and James Milne (aka Lawrence Arabia) on backing vocals – was critically divisive, and Scott told Shane Gilchrist of the Otago Daily Times, “About 30 percent of the reviews said it’s the best thing on the record; the other 70 percent said it’s the worst.” As it turns out, you can’t please everyone all of the time.
Fandango was well received, with even the typically cynical NME giving them high praise. The band toured the UK and Europe almost immediately after the album’s release, capitalising on the inroads already made. While the local part of the tour is memorable for Scott, who tore a disc in his spine and was hardly able to walk, his highlight is the band’s last European show in Paris.
“I think we’d sold like three tickets!” he laughs. “We came back to the gig, and we walked round the corner, and the street outside the venue was just packed with people! It was a classic Paris crowd … it was a really loose, scummy venue, and the crowd was really into it … what we thought was going to be a bummer was a really great end to the tour.”...to be continued… - AUDIOCULTURE Amanda Mills

trax:
1. Bob Lennon John Dylan 2. Fiscal Pickle 3. Real Pig 4. Asswipe 5. Race Day
…served by Gaius…