Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Nearly 10 years into its career, the underrated French band has honed its sleek and increasingly effective bursts of pop to a fine point.
Phoenix has always been less a great rock band and more some sly, sensitive, clever-but-not-coy enthusiast's idea of a great rock band. Part of that owes to their being French and thus born slightly outside the rock margins, but more of it owes to their uncanny command of the form—their soft touch with everything from…
Phoenix seem to be channelling some sort of mysterious energy from another dimension where everybody is cool and French and hangs out with Daft Punk. And if that's starting to get old, they really don't seem to care.
Realigned with Philippe Zdar, the half of Cassius who mixed United, Phoenix make adjustments on the polarizing characteristics of their second and third albums -- the pokey and occasionally listless Alphabetical, the jagged and tune-deficient It's Never Been Like That -- with some of the most direct and enjoyable songs they've made to date.
<p>A fine example of smart-arsed indiedom from a band who you still need reminding are French</p>
The great peril of being ahead of the curve is that the curve will eventually catch up and then change direction entirely.
<p>Phoenix's synthy offering is full of shiny, happy people not quite having fun. So why the po-faces, asks Alexis Petridis</p>
Phoenix (FRA) - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix review: Surely the high point of this band’s decade-long career.