Phoenix are a band for all occasions. In the mood for something funky and beat driven to play at a club? Their second album Alphabetical will do the job right. Need a mixed bag? It’s Never Been Like That is your best bet. Or maybe you want to move past the straight up electronica fad. Maybe you’re in need of something a bit more layered and complex, but not any less accessible.
Well, fear not folks, because the fantastic French band have evolved to accommodate these tastes as well. Their latest offering, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is riddled with nods towards the classical direction, but with a Phoenix twist. But I’m sure you could discern that from the title.
Lead single and opener “Lisztomania” is an allusion to Franz Liszt’s piano concerts. The song itself steadily builds on clapping percussion and twinkly keys and an irresistible vocal delivery: “it comes and goes/ah! Lisztomania/Think less but see it grow /Like a riot like a riot oh!” to the final looping keyboards which make you honestly ponder what a classical composer in the 18th century could do with modern technology.
But by far my favourite thing off the album is the epic “Love Like a Sunset”, a song so interesting and futuristically awesome that will keep you on edge until you forget that there should be vocals at all, leaving you pleasantly surprised at the final minute and a half when Thomas Mars begins to sing alongside blissfully weightless harmonies.
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix dropped on May 25th and is available for purchase and obsessive listening bouts. Highly recommended.
4.2/5
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