France is noted for many things—garish palaces, fine cheeses, and carefully calibrated surliness, for example. It is not, however, known for rocking. There’s a reason for that, as most contemporary French rock sounds like anemic, warmed-over grunge with a wannabe Freddie Mercury on lead vocals. Generally speaking, there is a lot of bravado, wailing, and angst; but little to recommend.
That’s why Phoenix is such a puzzler. They’re French, they’re really good, and they’ve even managed to write a hit single about Franz Liszt. Their latest album offers the poppy, layered, deconstructed-then-reconstructed numbers that one would expect, as well as more experimental songs that suggest a mad scientist on the loose. It’s available from SWAN.