“Lisztomania” is still all up front with the production, but the melodies sweep and swirl and the insanely simple playing is crisp and composed with multiple dynamic moments. Instantly, I notice that the band has done away with their previous inclination to come up with a decent melody and then call it a day on said song. Its New Romantic Garage Wave and it sounds pretty sweet. This is what they do best as a euro new wave blast but here they have finally mastered the art of being a grit free Strokes (you know, a precious French version) and that is not a bad thing at all should you not have a fancy boy bias. Was this a final admission of the lay of the land and they just gave in and front-loaded the disc for the listeners? The songs are so in your face with their pop pleasures (Phoenix has never had a ton of depth to their aural experience) that they cause a slow smile to crease across my jaded face. I don’t know if it was the life-change or the need to carve out their time more judiciously that led to the transformation, but whatever it was it sure as hell did the trick! Leading off the cheekily named “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix” with the one two power punch of “Lisztomania” and “1901,” I had instant doubts. The signs of turning this difficult corner were apparent on “It’s Never Been Like That” but it wasn’t until some new-found focus came into the band via frontman Thomas Mars producing a child (that is sure to have impeccably messy hair) with the one and only Sofia Coppola, that they turned on the overdrive. Never lacking in singles, they would call out to me from the radio or indie dance floor and trick me into buying their discs, (devious franchies!!!) only to find that I really only wanted to hear two songs incessantly on repeat, until I burned out on them days later, never to return.
WHO CREATED WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX ALBUM ARTWORK FULL
What they failed to do, was have it happen over the course of a full album. Volume please: Phoenix has always produced catchy little tunes, crispy and salty sweet like the thin little French fries that they are.