Leak Review: Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
7.5 / 10. Phoenix rises from France with a fun, inventive sound
May 5, 2009
On April 4, relatively unknown indie-electronic band Phoenix was asked to play a third song as Saturday Night Live’s musical guest.
This put the band in exclusive company, as the only other bands to be invited to play a third song on SNL have been music industry behemoths like Paul McCartney, U2 and Coldplay. This now makes for an interesting list considering that for many, the band’s SNL performance was the first time they heard of Phoenix, the band.
Who are Phoenix, and Where are they From?
For a start, they’re not from Phoenix.
The band actually hails from Versailles, France. Band members Thomas Mars, Deck D'Arcy and Christian Mazzalai formed Phoenix in the late 1990s under the shadow of two famously influential French groups from the late-90’s rave/electronica scene, Air and Daft Punk.
Over the past decade, Phoenix has released three studio albums and one live effort, most notably 2004’s “Alphabetical.” But by and large, Phoenix has existed on the periphery of the ever-changing 00’s indie scene.
Perhaps it has been the decline of anti-French sentiment in the United States, perhaps not, but Phoenix’s new album, “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” has received a considerable amount of buzz from online music geeks in the months leading up to it’s May 26 release, which also happens to be the release date for Grizzly Bear’s blog-championed “Veckatimest.” (8.5)
French Indie-Rock-Synth-Pop? Absolutely.
Phoenix, despite having a name that’s almost inexcusable in the age of the Internet, is a band that is most certainly unique and more importantly fun, considering that this is pop music. But it’s not the kind of 12-year-old pop music that pollutes radio stations in major cities nationwide, it’s rich, inventive pop music with chock full of synthesizers that are neither overbearing or entirely unnecessary.
The synths are a perfect compliment to the jangling indie-rock guitars and syncopated drumbeats that make up the rest of Phoenix’s sound.
What this amounts to is the kind of bouncy indie-pop music that got everyone talking about Vampire Weekend back when Obama was still trading gaffes with Hillary, except the violins and mandolins are traded for French synthesizers and a few more 21st century gadgets.
Best of all, the band has a genuine pop sensibility and deliver a few absolute gems on “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.” The first being immediate standout, “1901,” one of the two songs they played on SNL and the one that has stirred up the most blog hype, and rightly so. Don’t be surprised if this one landed a spot on a commercial this summer, if it hasn’t already. It’s incredibly catchy, but it’s also a well-crafted, interesting song to boot. “Lisztomania,” the other SNL track, is another immediate standout.
Bottom line on "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix"
“Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” is super-catchy indie-electronic album that is loaded with pop hooks and rightfully deserves the attention it’s received. It’s not as good as Yeah Yeah Yeah’s “It’s Blitz!” but it’s certainly better than of Montreal’s “The Skeletal Lamping.”
It's certainly worth checking it out at any local, independently owned record store, or, in this day and age, Google-ing the band to find out more.
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