Review Summary: A tiny spark.
It’s interesting what you can do with an ink pen, especially a ballpoint one. When in capable hands, the ballpoint pen (or even the quill, for those of you feeling Victorian) can create a masterpiece. Beautiful writings, crisp drawings, an overall clearer and more established sense of self. In the wrong hands, ink can be disastrous. It can bleed everywhere, soak through the page, create devilish stains, and just be uncharacteristically sloppy, like the blood of a beaten down cliche. Phedora, a Polish modern rock band that takes influence from heavyweights such as RED, Linkin Park, and Breaking Benjamin, claim to be calligraphers. No, not in a braggodocio Fred Durst manner, but the mere statement on opener “Of Ink” that reads: “I’m building a house of ink.” The question is, where does the ink fall nicely, and where does it bleed through the foundation.
Certain moments of the album are the dried bits of black ink on the page that you can rely on not to smear away, as are certain aspects. The singer is fully capable and bearable once you get past the accent and he’s got a decent set of pipes on him, and his voice works well with the string orchestras, electronic backdrops, and walls of sound from the axemen. Speaking of the axemen, both are proficient at the instrument and are able to put out some enjoyable guitarwork. Predictably, bass and drums are somewhat in the background and while they aren’t necessarily bad, you barely hear them half the time and it’s lacking.
“One Breath Away” and “Meet Me In The Limbo” are energetic, string and riff-driven songs that propel the listener after the eerie, well-done intro in “Of Ink”. There’s definitely a RED vibe here and maybe a more melodic Chevelle, but I also detect a Fair To Midland/Karnivool vibe, especially in the vocalist. “Meet Me In The Limbo” also manages to be a little more atmospheric and toned down than “One Breath Away”, but it’s a fun mid-tempo track with some beautiful clean chord progressions and a catchy, sky-rocketing bridge. “Embers” is the next standout moment and could easily have been a
Hybrid Theory b-side. There’s a bouncy beat, glitzy, spazzy electronics, power chord and single note riffs, and rapping. The rapping isn’t bad, but the accent is a little off-putting at first and this may turn some listeners off. However, the chorus is gorgeous and soaring, one of the best of the albums, and if you can find nothing else redeemable about the track, you’ll at least love the earworm. Oh, and the gang vocals and clap-a-longs in the bridge will have you grinning widely and eagerly joining in. “Chasing Snowflakes” is rock-radio ready, but this isn’t a bad thing. On my first run-through of the record, this is the bastard track that forced itself into my head so I had to revisit the album. The electronics throughout feel wintry and very fitting, not unlike some later In Flames material, the chorus has a fantastic hook, there’s a great mix of acoustic and electric guitars, as well as some soaring strings, and the vocalist sounds fantastic. The lyrics
(which I will revisit later) are actually fairly creative and thought-provoking, not unlike much of RED’s material. And there’s even a cool guitar solo, and I normally don’t enjoy solos. “Paper Streets” is a heavier number, complete with raging guitar riffs, a reverb-drenched lead, and a decidedly angrier vocal delivery melded with the softer melodies. Also, the lyrics are decidedly creepy, almost giving off a sociopathic vibe. It’s a bit jarring to go from the relatively positive lyrics to much darker territory, but only a little and once you’re over the initial shock, a little of the novelty will be lost. It does serve to drag the listener into the song and claw and tear at their throats.
And for all this firm foundation, there are splotches for sure. This band CANNOT write a decent ballad, and there’s at least three ballads on the record. Two of them are just purely forgettable, the third one blatantly tries- and fails- to duplicate the emotional catharsis of Breaking Benjamin’s “Ashes of Eden” or RED’s “Take It All Away”. There’s also a fair bit of filler and just plain predictable moments. Lyrically, I’m not really sure what the guys were going for. The beginning of the album sets up a fairly compelling idea, but then the rest of the record barely ever touches on it, save for a few vague mentions in song titles. I’m not saying every album has to be a concept record, but if you go into the studio with the intent of making a concept record and then advertise the album as such, it’s jarring and breaks the immersion when so many songs do not gel with the overall plot, or at least don’t seem to.
Moments of this record are jam-packed with potential, but too much of it seems bloated. If the group can find that crisp sheen that other modern rockers display and cut out the grimy stains, Phedora could be a force to be reckoned with.
