Band: Phloide.com and the Micronauts
Album: And Now to Sum Things Completely Different (2006)
Label: Self Produced
Tracks: 12 with lyrics (+ same 12 tracks repeated as instrumentals)

Not sure how many have heard of Phloide.com and the Micronauts, but if you have not heard their sound yet, then you are really missing out on some amazing sounding original, beautifully complex, and deeply thought provoking underground Christian music!

Perhaps you have heard of the blazing guitars and fast beats of the Christian classic 80's metal band "Overdrive", or the soothing classical electronica sounds of "21 Inventions in Pachelbel's Cannon in D". While both of these other 2 projects are most excellent sounding and very well produced within their quite different sounding genres, they do have one thing in common. That is the involvement of Phloide.com's sole musician and producer; Joe McLaughlin.
In Phloide.com you can definitely hear the musical influences from these two previous works. Yet even with these strong and diverse influences, Phloide.com delivers a complex and skillfully woven hard driving sound all its own, which I would loosely describe as most closely resembling industrial/gothic hard rock.

"Now to Sum Things" released in 2006 is the second album from the Phloide.com project, featuring a generally similar (but perhaps a bit edgier) sound compared to its predecessor 2002 Album "Deception" made by "Phloide.com and the Garden Gnome Liberation Front".
On Phloide's "Now to Sum Things", some songs such as "Danny's Magic Cellphone", "Ride of a lifetime"" and "Yrtle and Bartholomew" definitely lean towards the edgy hard driving industrial rock end of the musical spectrum. Others such as "Zillion Faces", "Pint of Dark Matter", and "Sum of All Things" feature more of a melancholy gothic rock sound.

The tracks "Schrödinger's Kitty", "Ahab's Bee of Death", "The Great Opaque Divide" and instrumentals "Dancing upon the Ephemeron" and "Cheese" feature a diverse mix of edgy alternative rock beats, distorted guitar and bass sounds, and dark or sometimes whimsical sounding synthesizer melody lines. "Birdies Bouncing Off Windows" is quite humorous and deeply melancholy and thought provoking all at the same time.
All songs (besides the instrumental "Dancing Upon the Ephemeron") feature a very distinctive sounding electronically processed vocal delivery which blends in well with the mood of the songs, and adds to the album's edgy and unique alternative/industrial musical appeal. The only drawback with this approach for the vocal delivery is that some of the words of the songs are a little bit hard to make out at times. The words of the songs are mostly still clear enough to understand throughout the album, and full lyrics to all of the songs are provided in the album's liner notes and also at phloide.com's main website and myspace page. (Which by the way are very good places to check out for those interested in learning more about the album and getting the latest scoop on how and where to purchase it)

The written content of the songs is perhaps the most amazing aspect of Phloide's "Now for Sum Thing" album and is persistently humorous and deeply thought provoking throughout. If you are a fan of British Humor, Dr. Seuss, or nursery rhymes (or all of the above) you are really in for a treat as the writing of the songs is riddled with humorous references to the likes of Monty Python, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Spinal Tap, Danny the Dinosaur, and even H.R. Puffnstuff.
I can also detect some subtle tips of the hat to great classical rock musicians such as Pink Floyd, the Eagles, Jimmi Hendrix and Rush. The lyric sheet is thoroughly written with the lyrical imagery delivered in mostly a poetic or metaphorical style. The written content of the deeply thought out song lyrics are guaranteed to tickle your brain and challenge your thoughts in the subjects of the validity of the theory of evolution and some aspects of quantum physics, mankind's treatment of his fellow man, and the significance of One's life and search for meaning in God's Creation and Universe. At least these are some of my interpretations so far of the album's lyrical content and deep meanings, and you are likely to come away with your own unique interpretations of the meanings of the songs as you embark upon the adventure of exploring this great album.
As far as musical comparison, I cannot think of any direct musical comparisons for this album, but the innovative and creative edgy alternative rock sounds and conceptual approach of this album remind me quite a bit of Scatered Few's "Sin Disease" and LSU's "The Grape Prophet".

In conclusion, Phloide.com and the Micronauts "And now to Sum Things Completely Different" is a brilliantly written collection of skillfully crafted fresh and innovative underground rock sounds that is sure to appeal to fans of Christian Industrial, Gothic, and Alternative Rock alike.

Track listing:

1) Zillion Faces
2) I Went on a Ride
3) Danny's Magick Cellphone
4) Birdies Bouncing Off Windows
5) Cheese
6) Yertle & Batholomew
7) Schrödinger's Kitty (Strings)
8) Pint of Dark matter
9) Ahab's Bee of Death
10) Dancing upon the Ephemeron
11) The Great Opaque divide
12) Sum of All Things

Band websites (song lyrics included):
www.phloide.com (be sure to check out Phloide's other projects there too; "Overdrive" and "Pachelbel")
www.myspace.com/phloide
www.cdbaby.com/cd/phloide2
www.soundclick.com/phloide (Phloide.com and the Garden Gnome Liberation Front's "Deception" album)

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed