Finally, the follow-up to 2009’s breakthrough Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is here. Its been four years since the French quartet’s last offering, with standout tracks such as ‘1901’ and ‘Liztomania’, and it seems as if these last four years have been time well spent with an altogether more experimental, and more ambiguous, ‘sound’ being displayed on their forthcoming album Bankrupt!
First-single ‘Entertainment’ shows a foregrounding of the 80s Depeche Mode-style synths which offer an insanely catchy, Japanese-tinged, pop with the synths in question being reminiscent of the sort of thing you’d find in a year 7 music class. This doesn’t override the album and becomes interspersed by moments of straight-forward guitar-driven rock, similar in style to smore mainstream synth-rock bands such as the Killers or Bastille.
The French-rockers have always been branded as peripheral, and oozing indie. However, this is not necessarily true of their latest offering. Although often characterised with their ambiguous and intelligent song-writing, their ‘sound’ remains very much accessible especially in tracks such as ‘Everything is Everything’. Continuously catchy, the group seem to focus on creating a well-written song before considering the experimental aspect, of their material which is subtly interwoven.
Although very much a progression from the band’s previous offerings, Phoenix still musically borrow from Wolfgang. The title track is similar to ‘Love Like a Sunset’, which slowly yet interestingly builds to some sort of climax in the final few minutes. However, unlike the explosive blast in ‘Sunset’, ‘Bankrupt!’ plateaus and ends on a gentler note. With Bankrupt! Phoenix offer a musically and lyrically more mature album, still catchy, still experimental, and still a great listen.
Download: ‘Entertainment’
