The Phoenix Foundation - GUYD (Vinyl)

LP

The Phoenix Foundationreturn with their new and sixth studio album Give Up Your Dreams. Its a shrewd and vibrant reminder that in their gloriously absurd world of Technicolour pop, it's the challenges you set yourself that reap the greatest rewards.

Channelling the previous album Fandango's beauteous side, but this time fuelled by a spit ball of irrepressible energy, Give Up Your Dreams feels like the band's most contemporary offering yet. Recorded within the pow-wow setting of the bands Car Club HQ in Wellington, it's the first time the band felt totally comfortable and confident in taking on production duties entirely themselves. The album's cosmic vibes are an upshot of utilising gadgets to shapeshift each sound, whilst synths were always built into the Foundation's musical make-up, this time around they're placed centre stage.

After 15 years together, this album feels like a total rebirth to us" reveals Buda, "it's uplifting feel comes as an act of defiance against all our fears in life.

Take The Phoenix Foundations advice then: give up your dreams and good things will happen to you too.