REVIEW: PHOENIX BY BIG RED MACHINE FT. FLEET FOXES & ANAIS MITCHELL

Photo courtesy of Rolling Stone

March 15th, 2023 | By: Emily Bates

Firstly, the fact that Big Red Machine is made up of Justin Vernon from Bon Iver & Aaron Dessner from National is incredibly cool, just from that knowledge alone means that you know anything that they put out is automatically going to be amazing.

Phoenix is a collaboration between Big Red Machine, Fleet Foxes & Anais Mitchell. This is an incredible mix of such unique and powerful voices, ones that create an impressive harmony.

Phoenix was one of the last songs to be put out on the record “How long do you think it’s gonna last?” and it’s creation was equally shared by all four artists.

Justin’s vocals and chorus were both already in place by the time that Fleet Foxes own Robin Pecknold got ahold of it to add the intro and set up the entrance for the vocals. The mix of Aaron and Anais’s vocals create such a beautiful harmony, one that’s hard to get out of your head.

When listening to the song you can immediately tell that the brains of Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes worked on this, simply from the folky feel and melody alone.

The chorus of the song talks about the challenges that people face while making their own choices and how easily we can be influenced.

Truly this is an incredible song and has easily made its way onto my daily playlist. It has a calming essence to it and truly encompasses the serene sound that both Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver are known for. I can’t wait to listen to the rest of the album.

Listen to the song here