1. Dormouse - A Theme - 1:08
2. Waiting For the Axe to Fall - 19:21
TWO: DORMOUSE ESCAPES
3. Darkness At Noon - 3:44
4. Gift of the Flame - 6:57
5. Interview With a Dormouse - 0:27
6. Thermonuclear Cheese - 1:54
7. The Search for Terrestrial Life - 8:14
THREE: DORMOUSE ENLIGHTENED
8. Love Theme from "Number Seven" - 13:50
9. Infinite Supply - 4:58
10. Dormouse - An End - 2:16
How does one describe this album? Intricate, dramatic, elegant, dissonant, tender, brash, always adventurous; Phideaux's Number Seven is a cornucopia of styles, strung together with a philosophical theme and a high standard of singing, playing, and composition. While not as focused and consistent as Doomsday Afternoon, the band's masterpiece, Number Seven's loose-limbed, shotgun approach to the concept album pays off unexpectedly, while also giving each member of the band space to shine.
The album doesn't tell a story so much as it presents a philosophic arc of self-awakening, or so it seems. There are a lot of typical sentiments throughout: questioning what you are told, finding your own way, leaving the hive, and so on. However, it transcends these tropes in search of something bigger, and it takes a left turn at the end that makes the pursuit of individual "enlightenment" seem much less important than it did at first...
Musically, the journey of the Dormouse takes a fantastic trip through great melodies, soulful harmonies, folky acoustic passages, and full-on electric assaults. "Waiting for the Axe to Fall" is a dizzying medley of minor key magic, with plenty of vocal features for co-lead singer Valerie Gracious, the Ruttan sisters, and Ariel Farber. Four female vocalists is never a bad thing, especially when they're all outstanding. "Gift of the Flame" features Valerie singing some juicily Gothic lyrics based on the myths of Prometheus, Tantalus, and, my favorite, Narcissus:
There's a boy by the pool who simply can't move but to drool,
Staring ever in to a silly grin
Trapped beside the pool...
Hour by hour I wait for my flower to bloom;
It's a hideous black mushroom,
Odious spore of doom!
There are ten people in this band, which could make for cacophony, but they navigate the movements well and show remarkable restraint on many simple and beautiful passages. "The Search for Terrestrial Life" stands out as a gem of an acoustic pop song with close harmonies - at least until the five minute mark, when it builds up into a mountain of rock and roll grandeur, then morphs into... a spaghetti Western soundtrack? Several instrumental themes throughout have a certain Italian flavor. There are even Italian lyrics in "Love Theme From 'Number Seven'". This could be campy, but it's played with such gusto that it works.
With the poignant yet soulful piano ballad "Infinite Supply" (which uses Pachelbel's chord progression to good effect), the musical rollercoaster ends in fine fashion. If you're like me, you're back in the line immediately to ride again.
Arbitrary rating: 5 out of 5 odious spores of doom
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