Blissful ending

The Phoenix Foundation’s latest album Happy Ending has been given five stars by The Independent’s Andy Gill who says the Wellington sextet “are surely the most potent band to come out of New Zealand since the far-off days of the Chills”. “Happy Ending has already secured glowing praise from such compatriots as Neil Finn and Flight of the Conchords, and it’s easy to see why: this is a gorgeous, sustained series of blissful psychedelic pieces in which swoonsome melodies and tender harmonies are beautifully balanced with a sort of salty lysergic fizz, full of gentle echoes of classic hippy groups like Procol Harum and King Crimson, but with an affectionate outsider’s ear for detail.” The Phoenix Foundation was founded by Conrad Wedde, Samuel Flynn Scott, and Luke Buda in 1997 while students at Wellington High School. Happy Ending, released on Flying Nun, is their third album.