Comments on: Heather Findlay – The Phoenix Suite

By: Tim Hall

Tim Hall — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:25:08 +0000

For me the appeal of “Offerings” was those beautiful harmonies and the mellow chill-out vibe to the whole thing, rather than the songwriting. But I think the songwriting is one the strongest things about “Phoenix”.

By: whitty

whitty — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 19:06:41 +0000

I’ve struggled with some of Heather’s songs on Mostly Autumn and Odin Dragonfly albums. That is not to say she hasn’t written some classics, because she has. and to me this is another example of her slightly hippy rocky no real genre type writing. Don’t know if that’s good or bad really. I mentioned on the Mostly Autumn Forum that I wasn’t sure if I would like a Heather solo album due to said writing style. Well I agree with Tim on this one. I like it but don’t love it. I’m sure there will be a lot of people that will think its great and I hope there are. Having said all that it’s great to hear Heathers superb voice on some new material.

By: Tim Hall

Tim Hall — Tue, 17 May 2011 21:23:10 +0000

Having discussed this with various people online, I think some people’s disappointment is that they expected something sounding like a cross between Mostly Autumn and Odin Dragonfly, and The Phoenix Suite doesn’t sound like that at all. That’s what I meant with my line about the EP being appreciated for what it is rather than criticised for what it isn’t.

I tihnk you’re right about the parting of the ways being the right decision. I did have the feeling that the creative partnership between Heather and Bryan had run it’s course, and they were pulling in slightly different directions on the last couple of albums. Go Well Diamond Heart was one of those directions, The Phoenix Suite is the other.

I think Heatherâ€™s going to a multi-faceted artist, and each EP is going to reflect a different aspect of her music and personality â€“ thereâ€™s a risk of a fragmented fanbase, but it does mean people who donâ€™t like this release may well love later ones.

Iâ€™m really looking forward to the electronica-based one; that doesnâ€™t carry the same weight of expectations as this one, and could genuinely surprise people.

By: Miika Kuusisto

Miika Kuusisto — Tue, 17 May 2011 17:58:10 +0000

After a dozen plays or so, I can say that I feel this is an excellent EP. Very consistently good material and I feel the fat-free arrangements work very well, there is simply nothing unnecessary in any of the songs.

Seems like leaving Mostly Autumn was absolutely the right decision. It’s great to see her write material without any boundaries.