A Mixed Bag
Captain Phoenix are hardly as incendiary as the mythical animal from which they take their name, nor as catchy as the frontman Ben Burrows' brother's band (oh come on, don't make me name them!), however they do make slick, well-formed pop tunes that would be sure to find themselves a place on the radio, were it not already saturated with similar driven indie tunes. Imagine the typical "Scouting for Wombats" style sound with a few more chugging chords à la Dirty Pretty Things and you're about there.
'Pistols & Hearts' shows plenty of energy and more rock sensibility than the majority of bog standard indie groups with some unleashed guitar work and raging vocals and is one of the tunes with the most potential; it's a shame that it's so early on and leaves the listener waiting for more. 'Living On The Guestlist' is a Babyshambles' like shimmying number that discusses the downfalls of the London party life with a cool rhythm that actually catches your ear and gets you back into the groove again for a good few minutes with jagged guitars building to an aggressive crescendo. 'Baby's Back' manages to stir some blues into the mix near the end of the album with raucous vocals, thumping percussion and snarling guitars that come like a lightning bolt from nowhere amidst the mishmash of indie rock.
'Didn't Know Sam', 'Water/Sun' and 'Same Old Story' channel The Kooks lazy, mellow, guitar-based indie with sharp vocals, the latter sporting the lyrics, "Why's everyone in this town so fucked up?" The acoustic guitars give a chilled feel, but it's mostly forgettable. 'Blackheath' is a soulful little number with a toe-tapping pace and pretty guitar progression, but still leaving a little something to be desired. 'Where Did You Go?' has a little more gusto and edge than plenty of the other tunes; perhaps because the vocals seem to pull out a little tension and longing.
'Life. Temper. Riot' is a curious album that seems to imitate plenty of very impressive bands, whether this is enough for Captain Phoenix to make a name for themselves is yet to be seen, but there's nothing that seems to define a unique sound. Of course, this does mean that the album is full of variety, but I'm still not quite sure what Captain Phoenix are really about.