Jon Glover (vocals, guitar, synths, sampler, drum programming)
Paige Fowler (guitar)
Influences
Wire, Joy Division, New Order, Chameleons, The Cure, Kraftwerk, The Smiths, Coil, Depeche Mode, Public Image Ltd., Aphex Twin, Clan of Xymox, Air, Crass, My Bloody Valentine, Kilborough, Slowdive, Fields of the Nephilim, Ladytron, Eno, Talking Heads, Bowie, Sisters of Mercy, Massive Attack, Siouxsie & the Banshees, Portishead, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Kamau Brathwaite, Spinoza
Sounds Like
"Kraftwerk working in a peep show," "Charles De Goal with a techno-migraine," "grinding, gothic guitars," "Portishead meets The Clangers," "haunting keyboard melody,"
"indie-electro, right up there with the Normal and Fad Gadget, done gracefully," "a funereal Portishead, one step away from triphop," "like robots watching The Mighty Boosh, plus some ranting Post-Punk dementia," "aggrieved and volatile indie rock," "ravishing electronic/indie explosion," “clattering rhythm,” “gracious vocals that give it a dignified poppy bounce,” “thoughtful, piquant and sedate,” “precise and imaginative layering,” “a waddling, flattened beast of a tune that ends too quickly,” “a gorgeous romp that cuts off smartly with a neat synth wash,” “the vocals dominate as it crunches and sways,” “ a fulsome, fluttering sound massage coming your way,” “Goth Pop with a fizzy sneer, which you'll love with its spindly, agitated guitar and solemn, disguised chorus,” “glows like a syrupy pool of oil,” "post-punk psychwave," Joy Division, New Order, Clan of Xymox, MGMT, Cut Copy, Hot Chip, Add N to X, Wire, Dragons, Danse Society, Boards of Canada, The Cure, The Legends, Interpol, The Faint, Ladytron, M83, Radiohead, Aphex Twin, Soviet, Xiu Xiu, Slowdive, Pink Floyd, Visage, Ultravox, Depeche Mode, Home Video, Wolfsheim
"The band to see here is Ars Phoenix, a duo that keeps their hands full, using an array of keyboards, synths, guitars, samples and vocals to create a familiar post-punk feel with moments of grinding industrial cacophony. Fans of Joy Division, The Talking Heads, Kraftwerk or Sisters of Mercy will certainly enjoy this band. . . . Their music is danceable, contemplative and haunting all at the same time." –Dante Lima, Gainesville Sun
"ENGINES OF PROGRESS is a quite remarkable album, mixing the spruce side of inquisitive electronic music, with frequently ingenious lyrics (an odd enough experience), yet also capable of throwing up some songs worthy of the fieriest postpunk or indie rocklings." –Mick Mercer, Interview w/ Ars Phoenix in The Mick 43
“emotional gravity of Simon and Garfunkle,” –Punk Planet 57
"Hailing from Florida (USA) Ars Phoenix bring us a quite well-crafted production where pop influences have been merged with a psychedelic flavor." Side-line.com [Belgium]
"Deep dark full of synths [and] distortion. . . ." DeathRock Star [Indonesia]
"We have the usual mixture of Electronic, Industrial and Ambient ingredients here that are used by thousands of sonic chefs nowadays. The difference here, which puts Glover in the top 1%, is having vocals which create an impact, aided by stunningly visual lyrics. There is much disturbance involved, with the music a threshing machine admirably restrained, melodic but bristling, moving from playfully ominous to potentially lethal. . . . a name that should put your eyes and ears on full alert." –Mick Mercer, Review of Engines of Progress in The Mick 42
"Glover is, above all, a good songwriter and able to combine different genres very skilfully. . . . 'The Dry, Cracked, Yearning Earth’ uses grinding, gothic guitars to get its apocalyptic message across. ‘Through Nets Of Granite’ is a doomy song made attractive thanks to its haunting keyboard melody whereas the post-punk bass propelling ‘Sovereign’ and serene synth tune for ‘Twigs’ add to the list of compelling moments. In addition, a couple of instrumental passages reveal an unexpected lightness of touch; ‘Modules’ and ‘Tone Poem (Minus Text)’ rank well above the level of incidental music and cross over into IDM territory." –Jonathan Leonard, Review of Engines of Progress in Leonard's Lair
With appearances from members of Fake Problems, The Antiques, and Rowdy Towdy, the 18-track collection Engines of Progress is a sonic bricolage of atmospheric post-punk, melancholic new wave, quirky IDM, hypnotic trip hop, and climactic shoegaze/post-rock.
Ars Phoenix is a guitar- and synth-driven post punk band fronted by Florida musician Jon Glover. With a revolving lineup of collaborators that has often included members of Fake Problems (Sean Stevenson), Unlucky Atlas (Terence Hannum), The Antiques/Teething Veils (Greg Svitil), and Noah’s Apathy (Joe Merrill, Dave Groves), Ars Phoenix has released two full lengths on the independent label For Documentation Only (Even in Blackouts, Fake Problems, Daleth, Rowdy Towdy, Steady State).
