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.
The two opening songs, the bopping "Lisztomania" and the buzzing "1901," are so immediate and prone to habitual play that the remainder of the album is bound to be neglected.
There is plenty to like beyond that point, including "Lasso," which niftily alternates between a tangled rhythm and tight-spiral riffing, and the labyrinthine "Pt.
1" of "Love Like a Sunset," which serves the same purpose as the extended instrumental passages on Roxy Music's Avalon, at least until its rousing conclusion and shift into "Pt.
2." Beyond containing the band's best, most efficient songwriting, the album also stands apart from the first three studio albums by projecting a cool punch that is unforced.
Vocalist Thomas Mars, more bright-eyed and youthful than ever, also sounds more a part of these songs, rather than coming across as a protruding element that clashes against the instruments.
Maybe they've just hit their stride.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LisztomaniaPhoenix | Phoenix | Play | 04:01 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | 1901Phoenix | Phoenix | Play | 03:13 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | FencesPhoenix | Phoenix | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | LassoPhoenix | Phoenix | Play | 02:47 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | RomePhoenix | Phoenix | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | CountdownPhoenix | Phoenix | Play | 03:57 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | GirlfriendPhoenix | Phoenix | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | ArmisticePhoenix | Phoenix | Play | 03:04 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Love Like A Sunset (Part I) | Phoenix | Play | 05:38 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Love Like A Sunset (Part II) | Phoenix | Play | 01:56 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 36 mins | 83 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Alary | Typography |
| 2 | Arnaud Chag Baratin | Production Coordination |
| 3 | Laurent Brancowitz | Artwork, Guitar, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 4 | Fabien Courtois | Audio Engineer, Technical Engineer |
| 5 | Deck d'Arcy | Bass, Guitar (Bass), Member of Attributed Artist |
| 6 | Julien Delfaud | Audio Engineer, Engineer |
| 7 | Thomas Hedlund | Drums, Drum Samples, Sampling |
| 8 | Shoichi Kajino | Photography |
| 9 | Florent Livet | Assistant Engineer, Audio Engineer |
| 10 | Thomas Mars | Member of Attributed Artist, Vocals |
| 11 | Mike Marsh | Mastering, Remastering |
| 12 | Christian Mazzalai | Guitar, Member of Attributed Artist |
| 13 | Julien Naudin | Assistant Engineer, Audio Engineer |
| 14 | Phoenix | Audio Production, Composer, Primary Artist |
| 15 | Cedric Plancy | Audio Engineer, Engineer, Flute, Stage Manager |
| 16 | Pascal Teixeira | Art Direction |
| 17 | Philippe Zdar | Audio Engineer, Audio Production, Drums, Mixing |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |