Secular End

Revenge of the Phoenix (Cellar Door)

Phoenix transplants Secular End poke and prod at pop-punk’s cathartic essence from a variety of angles on their debut. The catchy “Machines Are Slowly Taking Over My Pulse” adds a New Wave quirk to the mix, “Hey Judas” proffers a Black Francis sneer, and “Make Believe” takes an ill-advised stab at rap metal. Even though the tangent swapping doesn’t always yield distinguished results, a scrappy energy pervades throughout.

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*Oops! The following correction ran in the February 3, 2006 issue: Last week’s “Bonus Tracks” review of Secular End’s Revenge of the Phoenix concluded with a one-star assessment. The disc had actually been assigned two stars.

This article appears in January 27 • 2006.

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Greg Beets was born in Lubbock on the day Richard Nixon was elected president. He has covered music for the Chronicle since 1992, writing about everyone from Roky Erickson to Yanni. Beets has also written for Billboard,Uncut, Blurt, Elmore, and Pop Culture Press. Before his digestive tract cried uncle, he co-published Hey! Hey! Buffet!, an award-winning fanzine about all-you-can-eat buffets.