Phoenix

VIMTV Episode #601: Phoenix – Bankrupt!

Jake: 65/100

Tom: 65/100

Verdict: Enjoyable, but nothing too special and doesn’t truly live up to it’s potential.

Overview: Phoenix is a band that has a huge name to live up to, especially after the huge success of 2009’s Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.  Their follow-up, Bankrupt! would lead one to think the band has gone downhill based on title alone.  However, this newest installment is probably a better album listen than their blockbuster, just without some of the major highlights.  Bankrupt! coyly sneaks up on you; it has very creative and subtle songwriting underneath the polished new wave synth pop sound.  It’s a playful nature that longs for exploration while still presenting the sound in a catchy, fun manner.  This record isn’t truly brilliant, but it hosts consistently well-written tracks that are enjoyable.  However, we would have like to see more substance and unification as an album instead of the track focused model presented here.

Jake’s Track Picks: 

  • 1. Entertainment
  • 3. S.O.S. in Bel Air
  • 7. Chloroform

Tom’s Track Picks: 

  • 1. Entertainment
  • 4. Trying to Be Cool
  • 9. Bourgeois

VIMTV Episode #36: Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Jake: Somewhat Recommended, 69/100

Tom: Recommended, 74/100

Overview: For Phoenix’s fourth studio release, the French band has put together some of the catchiest tunes imaginable. The production is sparkly, bright, and very electronic, even when real instruments are being used. The songs are well written, but Jake and Tom both feel that they work better on their own than all together. The tracks all start to sound the same, and the way the album is broken up with the two part “Love Like A Sunset” series leaves Jake and Tom wondering if there was a better way they could have constructed this album.

Recommended Similar Artists: The Strokes, Of Montreal, MGMT

Jake’s Track Picks: 

  • 1. Lisztomania
  • 2. 1901
  • 10. Armistice

Tom’s Track Picks: 

  • 1. Lisztomania
  • 2. 1901
  • 9. Girlfriend

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  • Widipia
    #1 written by Widipia  10 months ago

    I’m a french teenager, and i think it’s one the best french albums i ever heard with M83′s Dead Cities, Saturdays = Youths & Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, & most of Gainsbourg’s work, which is genius.

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