I'm borrowing a lot of this from Wikipedia, because truth be told, I don't know much about the band Phoenix, other than they're French, they're featured on a lot of commercials, and that I can't get enough of "Lisztomania" or "1901.""Vocalist Thomas Mars, bassist Deck d'Arcy, and guitarist Chris Mazzalai started as a garage band based out of Mars' house in the suburbs of Paris.
"In 1995, Laurent Brancowitz, Mazzalai's older brother, permanently joined the band on guitar after the end of the short-lived band Darlin' he formed with Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo (who together became Daft Punk).
"The group got their touring start on the French bar circuit doing Hank Williams and Prince covers. Two years later the band took on the name Phoenix and pressed 500 copies of a single on their own label, Ghettoblaster. Shortly after, they were signed to the Paris-based Source Records. Phoenix became well acquainted with labelmates Air when they acted as their backing band on several U.K. TV appearances. They were the backing band for a remix of Air's "Kelly Watch the Stars" single. Soon after, Phoenix released their 2000 debut album United."
-per Wikipedia
They also worked on the "Virgin Suicides" soundtrack (which was by the aforementioned Air) and the lead singer and Sofia Coppola are a bit of an item - that's what I picked up from David.
Their newest album - "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix" - is great. The first two songs are well known to anyone who watches TV commercials, and I can't get them out of my head.
Their performance at Bonnaroo was the last before Dave Matthews Band closed out the festival, and it was awesome (David and I were there, but not Justin). I have embedded a video below. They led off with "Lisztomania" and ended with "1901," and all the while the crowd stayed hyped and bounced red and white balloons everywhere. I should note that bizarro-Thomas skipped the Rise Against show for this one, so it will be interesting to know if the real Thomas enjoys what he hears.
‘It’s Never Been Like That’ was a pretty fun album overall. The songs were fun for the most part and they did not run into one another. They reminded me of Jet, Vampire Weekend, and The Academy Is… I think they could use a 3rd guitarist to generate a fuller sound. ‘Napoleon Says’ was a great start to the album and had some very cool and smooth guitar work. Based on the lyrics ‘Consolation Prize’ sounded like they were just ripping someone apart by insulting them with everything in the book, but the tone of the song was very upbeat and positive. ‘Long Distance Call’ was my second favorite track on the album. There is a cool little note that repeats throughout and I can’t tell if it is a keyboard, guitar or synthesizer, but it allows the listener to have a more one on one experience with Thomas Mars during each verse. ‘Courtesy Laughs’ had quite a few hooks that made it almost as catchy as The Avett Brothers’ ‘Die Die Die.’ The instrumental ‘North’ was my favorite song on the track. It reminded me of a ‘Funeral For a Friend’ song and had me visualizing a young couple traveling cross country and having a mellow minded conversation. Good start to my week.
ReplyDeleteWolfgang Amadeus Phoenix was a big step up for me. The production definitely improved, and the sound was so much fuller. It has a lot more hooks and based on last week, it appears I am as susceptible as a 13 year old to hooks. This album kicks off with an extremely fun and catchy track in ‘Lisztomania’. It has a summery feel to it and it is both more upbeat and contains more emotion than anything we heard on INBLT. I guess I will have to pick an artist featured on a car commercial soon as they appear to be getting popular in Music Togetherness. The riff in ‘1901’ and the emotional lyrics are so addictive. ‘Fences’ was a trippy track that reminded me of a Keane song. The breakdown was extremely catchy and was probably the only thing that could possibly replace ‘1901’ as the song in my head each listen through. ‘Love Like a Sunset’ was another nice instrumental piece. Not as good as ‘North’, but still allowed me to paint my own picture. ‘Lasso’ was another strong track that although short, had some of the strongest lyrics on the album. ‘Countdown’ has a very catchy chorus and borderline says 6-6-6 which is an unexpected turn to the album.
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ReplyDeleteI am really glad that I listened to the other albums first. I would have really been dreading the other two albums and would have put them off until today. This is where the power of Bizarro Thomas really kicks in as I really despised this album. I try to keep in mind it was their first album, but the arrangements were all over the place and each song sounded like a knock off of another artist. ‘Too Young’ sounded like Keane, ‘On Fire’ sounded like James Taylor and parts of ‘Funky Squaredance’ sounded like Muse. I do have to admit that ‘Funky Squaredance’ was stuck in my head for quite some time, but that probably had something to do with the extremely odd chorus repeating over and over for 9 minutes. ‘If I Ever Feel Better’ was probably the lone bright spot on the album for me.
ReplyDeleteOverall I would still pick Rise Against over Phoenix, but I would pick Phoenix over most other artists, so don’t take it the wrong way. This was a fun week and I really like Thomas’ voice. I intend to keep an eye out for them in the future release sites I follow.
Sorry, my first post said error, too large, but ended up posting anyway.
“United” starts off with an interesting intro. I kept waiting for someone to start singing but no one ever did. “Too Young” sounded very familiar so I looked it up, and it was indeed in the movie Shallow Hal. While the movie is not very memorable, this song definitely was. It has a very 80ish vibe to it, and I think that Thomas’s voice sounds very smooth. I really like the techno vibe in the song “If I ever feel better.” They definitely make music that makes you want to dance, which I can always appreciate. I am not sure how these singers are able to get their voices to sound raspy, but I have to say I dislike it a lot. For instance in the song “Party Time” it is very hard to understand what is even being said in it. I am kind of disappointed with this track; it just doesn’t fit very well on the album if you ask me. “On Fire” gets right back on track with exactly what Phoenix should be doing. I can just picture myself riding around town with my windows down listening to this, it’s very happy go lucky. “Funky Square Dance” starts off slow, and sounding like an indie rock/ country song. Then around the 2:45 mark, the party starts up. It almost starts sounding like some Parliament Funkadlic, then as the song goes on it starts rocking out more and more. I kind of wish the song didn’t take so long to get to the guitar riffs, to me the end of the song is the best part. The album ends with a Kenny G-esque type track, which for me is a little odd. This album was very different for me than what I thought it was going to be. Very interested to see where their sound progresses to.
ReplyDeleteI really like the song “Consolation Prizes.” Parts of it remind me of the Hidden Valley Ranch commercials, which you would have to see to understand. While the band seems to have lost some of that 80’s feel, I think they have progressed into a more modern day indie rock sound. Thomas’s voice sounds very similar to Keane’s front man Tom Chaplin. Being a Keane fan, this adds to my enjoyment of Phoenix. “Long Distance Call” makes me think I am walking into a Hollister store. To me it sounds like the trendy music they are playing as you walk in the store. “One Time too many” has a nice backdrop to it, and I find myself feeling very relaxed. I love music that just takes you away, and lets you forget about everything else going on around you. “Second to None” was a little more upbeat, and I really think the guitars are the standout in the song. All in all this was a good follow up to the first album.
ReplyDelete“Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” is the only album I had heard previous to this week. I found it at my local library and thought I would give it a try. I have to say that on first listen I was not that into them. I am glad I have had the chance to listen to their previous work, and hope to appreciate this album more. “Lisztomania” is a huge step forward in the bands progression if you ask me. They are incorporating new sounds, while still keeping their smooth vocals. Of course “1901” was the track that got me interested in the band in the first place. Once again I saw the Cadillac commercial and thought that song is quite catchy. I still really like this song, and is probably my favorite song overall. It has an edginess to it that their other songs somewhat lack, and it definitely gets stuck in your head. “Fences” takes a nice relaxing tone that is a great follow up to “1901.” “Lasso” is another good track, it has those same hook you in beats as “1901” does. For me “Countdown” and “Girlfriend” almost sound like the exact same track. This makes me worry that they were just looking for some filler music towards the end of the album. Overall this album and their first album are the standouts for me. I like them both equally the same, and I am sure I will be adding them to my list of artists to look for in the future.
Phoenix are a band that I initially heard in 2004 on a DJ mix by a Norwegian guy named Erlend Oye (who fronted a band called Kings of Convenience) on a series of mixes called DJ Kicks. Oye's mix was the best I've heard in that series, and it featured a track that I just couldn't get out of my head, and therefore had to track down somehow. I eventually found out that the song was called "If I Ever Feel Better" by a French band called Phoenix. This was the only song I heard from the band for several years, but it was enough to have me supremely interested in hearing more from them. When 'It's Never Been Like That' came out in 2007, I was excited to check it out, and have been a huge fan of the band ever since.
ReplyDeletePhoenix's first release, 'United', is an album dominated by one single track. I love "If I Ever Feel Better" so much that it overshadows everything else on the album, and the rest pales in comparison. The only track that really comes close, in my opinion, is "Too Young". The repetitive guitar line is extremely catchy, and the song contains one of the better choruses in the band's early history. The band were still extremely influenced by their French musical heritage at this point, which led them to create some pretty cheesy music (as much French music is), and in turn led them to being thrown into the "yacht rock" sub-genre. The music is very organ-driven, which at times can lead to a pretty slow pace. "If I Ever Feel Better" takes that slow organ intro and then turns everything upside down. The beat introduces itself, the supremely awesome bassline gets going, and the song instantly becomes one of the most catchy things I've ever heard. The organ and guitar combination during the chorus is amazing, and the strings during the songs outro give me chills just listening to them. This song will always take me back to 2004 when I hear it, and to me, that's the mark of a brilliant song. Unfortunately, the good feelings don't carry over into the next song "Party Time", which is absolutely terrible and is the perfect example of the kind of music that the band shouldn't be making. "On Fire" is a little better with it's instrumental section stolen straight out of an Air song, but the cheese is definitely in full affect. "Embuscade" is the definition of "yacht rock" if you weren't sure what I was talking about when I mentioned it before, and sounds like it should be in a movie that thinks it's better than it actually is. "Funky Squaredance" is a few songs combined into one, and they're all fairly good. The end, however, is one of the brightest spots in the Phoenix catalog. It has such an epic feel to it...if only they'd closed the album out on that note. "Definitive Breaks" has a nice beat to it, but a really lame Kenny G'ish sax solo.....that's the French for you, I guess.
'United' Album Rating: 66%
Between 2004 with their second album 'Alphabetical' and 2006's 'It's Never Been Like That', something drastically changed with Phoenix. Gone were all the French influences, and in their place were American power-pop/indie bands like Weezer and The Strokes. "Napoleon Says" is sort of like a call to arms as far as their new guitar sound goes, kicking the album off with a sound unheard in the band's past output. When I first heard this song when the album came out, I immediately knew that I had something great on my hands. "Rally" is an insanely catchy song, and gets stuck in my head for hours every time I hear it. "Long Distance Call" is the real standout song on an album full of them....the backgrounded guitar line during the opening verse is great, and as it carries on through the bridge and then explodes into the chorus it shows just how talented these guys are at constructing songs. "Lost and Found" has an amazing ascending guitar line during the chorus....this is the Phoenix version of a slow song and it's brilliant. "North" is the best of the band's instrumentals, and is titled perfectly for what I get out of it musically....a journey someplace faraway. Possibly to the north? "Sometimes In the Fall" is my second favorite track on the album, and once again shows the band's ability to take a guitar line throughout the verse and flip it into something catchy for the chorus. This was one of my favorite albums of 2006, and to this day I love everything about it.
ReplyDelete'It's Never Been Like That' Album Rating: 90%
'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' is where the band finally hit the popularity jackpot that they'd been flirting with since 2006. The best example of this for me is the fact that last year at Bonnaroo (just two weeks after this album was released), the band played just a half hour set at 10:30 at night...kind of a fill in spot. This year, however, they were given a Sunday evening two hour slot on the 2nd biggest stage at the festival. The crowd for the show was beyond anything I ever would have anticipated....the second biggest non-main stage show I've ever seen at Bonnaroo. The popularity was well-deserved, however, as the album that created it is fantastic. Kicking things off with the 1-2 punch of their most popular songs, the album grabs you right away. "Lisztomania" is a just a great, fun indie pop song, and shows the band to be in it's hook-filled prime. The performance of "1901" was one of my top Bonnaroo highlights of this year...the repeated "fold it, fold it, fold it, fold it" section instantly turns everything into party mode, and being around a crowd of thousands of people experiencing the same joy as I was at that moment was indescribable. The song passed "If I Ever Feel Better" at that moment as my favorite Phoenix song, and was one of my absolute favorite tracks of the last decade. With the impossibly high bar set by the first two tracks, the rest of the album couldn't possibly be as good. However, Phoenix did as admirable a job as could be expected, making an album completely free of filler. "Fences" is another example of the great Phoenix slow song, and is just full of emotion. My biggest gripe with "Love Like a Sunset" is it's sequencing in the album. It's so strange to put a 7 and a half minute (mostly) instrumental track fourth on an album full of potential singles, and it takes away some of the steam that the album had created with the first three songs. I appreciate the sentiment of the song, I just wish it had been towards the end of the album. "Rome" is a pretty good track that really hits it's stride in the last quarter of it's running time. After a couple of decent but ultimately not memorable songs, "Armistice" provides us with Phoenix's first great album closer. It has a rather dark feel to it in certain sections of the song, and I really think this kind of thing could suit the band well if they were to incorporate a little bit more of it into their sound in the future. Regardless, with their last two albums, Phoenix has ensured that I will be highly anticipating their future albums, and I expect more greatness from them to come.
ReplyDelete'Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix' Album Rating: 86%
As I started my initial listen of United I wondered why people were a little hard on Phoenix’s debut effort, but as I got further into the album I understood. “Too Young” was immediately recognizable from one of my favorite movies Lost in Translation; I never realized that it was Phoenix, director Sofia Coppola has been with lead singer Thomas Mars for quite some time so it makes perfect sense. “Too Young” is an expertly crafted pop song, perfect to pogo to. “Honeymoon” drags because it’s a little too caught up in itself; it needed to be about 2 minutes shorter. Their friendship with MusicTogetherness artist Daft Punk is undeniable with “If I Ever Feel Better”, the chorus could easily be found on any of Daft’s stronger efforts but Thomas’ verses give it a more human feel. The release of this album was around the time bands like The Strokes and The Vines were getting major airplay with their fuzzy, distorted vocals and crashing guitars; “Party Time” is a song constructed in that vein and doesn’t play to Phoenix’s strengths. This is where I understand everyone’s concerns with United; I give Phoenix a pass because it’s their debut and I don’t expect a band to have a completely realized sound this early in the game. The best tracks really hit the mark, while head-scratchers like the indulgent, syrupy 80’s “Embuscade” seem completely out of place. Thomas’ voice is easy to get lost in, the feathery “Summer Days” is ideal for a casual summertime cruise with the top down. The first 2:30 of “Funky Squaredance” serves as a lesson in patience as we are finally rewarded with a 6 minute dance groove that is impressive for a bunch of French dudes. Half of the album that was really good, overshadowed the out-of-place tracks that made up the other half. I dug it.
ReplyDeleteMy feelings after my first run-through of “It’s Never Been Like That” was that there is a tighter, more cohesive sound throughout, but I felt there was a real disconnect from the poppy, party tunes that I enjoyed so much on United. Thomas is drowned out by Chris’s guitar on the opening track, which just seems like an obvious production error. “Rally” is the first song on the album that starts to exude a personality but still seems a little rigid. “Long Distance” gets back to the fun-loving band that I like; the laidback tempo, along with Thomas’s voice, expresses a real comfortability on the track that draws me in. I finally figured out who Thomas has been reminding me of on tracks “One Time Too Many” and “Courtesy Laughs”, surprisingly it’s Billy Joel; the personality in his voice and the cadence in which he delivers his verses are pretty spot on. By the time I get through “Sometimes in the Fall” I honestly feel like I could fill in as the drummer because they use the same drum beat in almost every song. Though this album wasn’t bad, I feel they didn’t live up to the potential they’ve shown when it comes to crafting ultra-catchy pop anthems.
ReplyDeleteTP and I used to always joke, that if a band led off their album with their hit single that the rest of the album was undoubtedly terrible. While this doesn’t happen as often as it used to back in the stone-ages when TP and I hung out with dinosaurs, it holds very true in most cases. Phoenix is the exception. It is interesting that they put the albums two strongest songs, “Lisztomania” and “1901”, at the very beginning; it leaves the remaining tracks to fight an uphill battle of trying to match that energy. “Love Like a Sunset, Part 1” continues the confusing theme of dropping unnecessary instrumental tracks in the middle of well-paced albums. The brief “Love… Part 2” would have sufficed nicely on its own. They get back on track with “Lasso”, the toe-tapping bassline and Thomas’s sugary lyrics fit the mold that they have established for themselves. I am not going to lie, a lot of their songs sound similar, but it is that winning blueprint that gives Phoenix their pop success. “Rome” could easily be the soundtrack to an awkward high-school party; they have a Weezer-like quality that appeals to a more adolescent Justin. I enjoyed Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix the most this week; this is a good lead-in to the masters of catchiness, The Beach Boys.
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