PHOENIX’S NEW SINGLE ROCKS LIKE AMADEUS

French soft rockers find out amps can go to 11

Photo: www.wearephoenix.com

Phoenix “1901” (from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, 2009)

onsistency is usually good when it comes to things like an income, sex and a season of “Lost.” But with music, staying consistent is almost always boring. For its last two albums French band/pre-Daft Punk collaborators Phoenix have done just that: slowly changing gears from the funky AM Pop of its debut to a consistently rockier, Strokes-esque sound. And it’s not that it’s bad, it’s just boring when compared to 2001’s grooving “If I Ever Feel Better” introduced to me by Erlend Øye in one of my favorite DJ-Kicks compilations. Not to mention the bittersweet joy another early Phoenix single brought to a karaoke-ing Bill Murray in Lost in Translation (watch at :45 seconds).

So before listening to a brand new song from the forthcoming Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix posted to their site today, I thought “1901” might pick up from when we last heard Phoenix. “Twenty-One One Zero,” recorded exclusively for Cartier’s charity campaign last spring, wasn’t exactly fit for a Coppola soundtrack, but at least it was an interesting departure. Unfortunately, the only commonality these songs share are numbers in their titles. “1901” treads It’s Never Been Like That territory, beginning with an energetic synth and singer Thomas Mars’ always-affectionate lyrics, but the chorus takes one too many cues from, ugh, Vampire Weekend. Co-production by Cassius’ Philippe Zdar, however, keeps me optimistic for a record I expect will continue to grow Phoenix’s newfound audience.

Download “Twenty-One One Zero” also by Phoenix (from the Cartier LOVE campaign, 2008)

Download “If I Ever Feel Better” also by Phoenix (from United, 2000)

11:31pm Indie Rock, French Pop, Leak, France
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