This came out in 2004 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Rock ’n’ roll is a lot like comedy; it’s all in the timing. And in that regard, you can’t help but wonder if Winnipeg’s Tin Foil Phoenix will end up getting punk’d by their own potential.
Here’s what I mean: In 2002, based on the strength of their seven-song EP Hurry, the artists formerly known as Sonic Bloom snagged a deal with Nickelback kingpin Chad Kroeger’s 604 label. It’s no wonder why — Hurry was a distinctive, stylish concoction of funky hip-hop, swaggering metal and anthemic modern rock, topped with Michael Zirk’s hyperintelligent, stream-of-pop-culture-consciousness neo-beat poetry.
But hey, don’t take my word for it; listen to their oft-delayed, long-overdue album Living In The Shadow Of The Bat — half of it consists of rerecorded (and sometimes retitled) cuts from Hurry. And that, frankly, is what has me somewhat concerned.
Sure, songs like Neopolitan, Bum Rush The Motorcade and We’ll Get To Venus are just as addictive and brainy now as they were in 2002. And there’s no denying that the handful of new tunes are cut from a similar stylistic cloth. At the same time, however, there’s also no denying that if you live in this town, you’ve probably heard half this CD before. Even if you don’t, you might find the band’s Chili Peppers-meets-OLP approach a tad dated at this point. And like it or not, a disc so heavily reliant on older material — right down to the running order of the first three cuts — doesn’t inspire confidence in the band’s ability to deliver new songs (or perhaps the label’s confidence in them).
Ultimately, though, you can’t help but feel that fate has dealt the Phoenix boys a bad hand — if this disc hadn’t been delayed so long, they might be on their second album by now, instead of appearing to be stuck in a state of suspended animation. Still, here’s hoping that once they stop living in the shadow of their former selves, Tin Foil Phoenix can rise to their full potential.
Maybe then they’ll even get the last laugh.
