Fenix TX

CRE.EP

Written by: PP on 05/12/2016 21:17:59

A new record by Fenix TX? 2016 is really a year of musical wonders. The reunited, pop-punk flavored alternative rock band reached mainstream popularity in 2001 with the release of "Lechuza", which featured the widely acclaimed summertime hit "Threesome" among other great songs. The record, revered by some as a cult classic, divided opinion among fans and critics alike due to constant comparisons to Blink 182, who had just experienced a mainstream breakthrough with "Enema Of The State" during the same era. Though similarities between the two did exist, Fenix TX were always a little more quirky and alternative rock driven in comparison, even giving a shot at hardcore punk on a song or two.

Fast forward fifteen years without new releases other than a live album in 2005, the band return with a brand new EP "CRE.EP", a record that sounds like the 90s pop punk scene came back calling. Upbeat, energized and drenched in nostalgia and distorted guitars, a song like "Bending Over Backwards" suggests the band hasn't missed a beat and pick up right where they left off. The only problem? The pop punk scene kind of happened in the past 15 years and as much fun as listening to "CRE.EP" is for nostalgic reasons, the truth is that it sounds rather dated. The vocals - as indistinguishable Fenix TX as they are - were never particularly good, which is especially evident on the Wolfmother style classic rock'n'roll wails on "Get Loose" that comes across strangely sandwiched in between "Bending Over Backwards" and the EP highlight "I Don't Know What To Say". The latter is the kind of song that beach parties and beer pong were built on, featuring a hum-alongable guitar melody and upbeat vocal lines for a solid pop punk expression with a slightly melancholic twist - precisely the kind of material the best Fenix TX songs are today fondly remembered by.

But at the end of the five-song EP, there's a creeping thought of: was it really necessary to resurrect the band from the ashes? Sure, the spirit is there, but with plenty of inconsistencies on material less than eighteen minutes long, the EP feels little more than the band getting back together to make a few bucks on a reunion tour rather than with a purpose to write songs for the ages. It's decent, okay, but that's about as far as I'll stretch it.

6

Download: I Don't Know What To Say, Bending Over Backwards
For the fans of: Good Charlotte, Blink 182, Wolfmother
Listen: Facebook

Release date 30.09.2016
Cyber-Tracks

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