Phoenix Review
By Amrit Thind
Paint yourself this picture: A sunny day, a teenage boy is wasting away on the couch, he is about as open-minded as a nutshell, a TV remote glued to his hand, on the verge of obesity, never mind stupidity, he flicks through the channels and lands on MTV. It is on of those rare occasions when MTV is actually playing music; the boy allows the images to annihilate the last fragments of intelligence scattered around his brain, and as he listens and absorbs, he wonders who this slightly homosexual guy serenading into the microphone backed by this odd looking band is…?
Yes, the first time I heard Phoenix was on MTV. Yes, I did think the lead singer was a bit camp. As I found out later, it turned out that this band was from France – which partially justifies my line of though. And no, I was not on the verge of obesity – not physically at least, spiritually – possibly.
Phoenix is a French alternative rock band starring four childhood friends, Thomas Mars (vocals), Deck D'Arcy (bass), Christian Mazzalai (guitar) and Laurent Brancowitz (guitar) joined by Thomas Hedlund (drums) and Robin Coudert (keyboard). Their first album “United” was released in 2000, followed by “Alphabetical” in 2004. Then they dropped their bombshells in 2006 and 2009 with “It’s Never Been Like That” and “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.” Brilliant albums to say the least.
The video clip I was looking at back in the day was in fact “Long Distance Call” from their 2006 album, and, despite my hasty judgment of the lead-singer, there was no denying the fact that it was a catchy tune. There are two elements that define Phoenix; the vocals and the guitars. Thomas Mars has, for lack of a better way of putting it, a sweet voice. Somewhat high-pitched at times, he possesses the ability of making awkward and bizarre sounding singsong mix perfectly with the subtly guitar licks. The lyrics are frighteningly random, and this simply adds an to the unique sensation to the vocals – Mars seems to promiscuously pick the words out of thin air and fit them into a song backed by impeccable harmonies found in the guitar and keyboard. They make a fine example of this in their newest hit single “Lisztomania.” True, it is not the most challenging of music – if you are looking for mind-blowing guitar solos and thrashing drums, you will not find them here. What you will find is some great chill-out music, especially in the recent releases. Each tune has something exceptional to it – whether it’s the happy-driving guitars in “Consolation Prizes” or the delicate picking in “Love for Granted”, Mars’ double layered vocals in the chorus of “1901”, or the sublime touch on the keyboard in “Long Distance Call”, there is always something new to explore in Phoenix.
Not to say that there aren’t any idiosyncrasies to Phoenix. Their first two albums are fairly frayed. One track will display classic Phoenix characteristics to it; the next will have a strange fusion of funk and elector music pumping through your ears. They aren’t all bad – even in the beginnings of the band some lovely compositions are present. “Summerdays” for instance is a hugely cheerful ditty, whereas “Run Run Run” and “Everything is Everything” are more symbolic of the modern Phoenix era, playing off the casual eccentricity the band is nowadays famed for.
It pains me to say that Phoenix is now “famed”. Despite the fact that Phoenix greeted me on MTV, they were by no means famous in 2006 – and this was part of their beauty. Inevitably however, great music comes hand in hand with success and glory – not that this is necessarily bad. If you haven’t heard of Phoenix yet, here is an introduction, and rest assured, you are bound to hear more of them in the future.
Yes, the first time I heard Phoenix was on MTV. Yes, I did think the lead singer was a bit camp. As I found out later, it turned out that this band was from France – which partially justifies my line of though. And no, I was not on the verge of obesity – not physically at least, spiritually – possibly.
Phoenix is a French alternative rock band starring four childhood friends, Thomas Mars (vocals), Deck D'Arcy (bass), Christian Mazzalai (guitar) and Laurent Brancowitz (guitar) joined by Thomas Hedlund (drums) and Robin Coudert (keyboard). Their first album “United” was released in 2000, followed by “Alphabetical” in 2004. Then they dropped their bombshells in 2006 and 2009 with “It’s Never Been Like That” and “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.” Brilliant albums to say the least.
The video clip I was looking at back in the day was in fact “Long Distance Call” from their 2006 album, and, despite my hasty judgment of the lead-singer, there was no denying the fact that it was a catchy tune. There are two elements that define Phoenix; the vocals and the guitars. Thomas Mars has, for lack of a better way of putting it, a sweet voice. Somewhat high-pitched at times, he possesses the ability of making awkward and bizarre sounding singsong mix perfectly with the subtly guitar licks. The lyrics are frighteningly random, and this simply adds an to the unique sensation to the vocals – Mars seems to promiscuously pick the words out of thin air and fit them into a song backed by impeccable harmonies found in the guitar and keyboard. They make a fine example of this in their newest hit single “Lisztomania.” True, it is not the most challenging of music – if you are looking for mind-blowing guitar solos and thrashing drums, you will not find them here. What you will find is some great chill-out music, especially in the recent releases. Each tune has something exceptional to it – whether it’s the happy-driving guitars in “Consolation Prizes” or the delicate picking in “Love for Granted”, Mars’ double layered vocals in the chorus of “1901”, or the sublime touch on the keyboard in “Long Distance Call”, there is always something new to explore in Phoenix.
Not to say that there aren’t any idiosyncrasies to Phoenix. Their first two albums are fairly frayed. One track will display classic Phoenix characteristics to it; the next will have a strange fusion of funk and elector music pumping through your ears. They aren’t all bad – even in the beginnings of the band some lovely compositions are present. “Summerdays” for instance is a hugely cheerful ditty, whereas “Run Run Run” and “Everything is Everything” are more symbolic of the modern Phoenix era, playing off the casual eccentricity the band is nowadays famed for.
It pains me to say that Phoenix is now “famed”. Despite the fact that Phoenix greeted me on MTV, they were by no means famous in 2006 – and this was part of their beauty. Inevitably however, great music comes hand in hand with success and glory – not that this is necessarily bad. If you haven’t heard of Phoenix yet, here is an introduction, and rest assured, you are bound to hear more of them in the future.