Giantsleaping

honor of Rose & I seeing Phoenix live tomorrow @ the Hollywood Bowl (with Grizzly Bear opening!), I have made my Top 7 Phoenix songs. Phoenix to me are a pop band with a twist. Not quite rock (but with great grooves & guitars), and not quite electronic (though with defining keyboard parts and motorik beats). The singer isn't a singer in the classic sense; he's a bit like an ordinary guy singing (about God knows what sometime) in conversational tones. Pleasing, but not sleep-inducing. I liken them to a French version of Beck maybe, with a low key New Oder thrown in.
I start with "FunkySquaredance" from their first album. I distinctly remember KCRW playing this in the summer of 2000 and thinking: What the f*** is this? Starts out like a country song, then at near the 3 minute mark switches gears into a a crazy party groove with a Latin beat under current. Not settling for this...just after 5 minutes in...a metallic prog-rock middle, complete with vocoder-ed vocals. Oh, and a screaming guitar workout worthy of Steve Vai in full-flight. But even in the midst of this extended coda...a mini New Order-esque breakdown. Whew! But it all works. =)
"Rome", from their latest, has a catchy guitar staccato line and a melancholy melody that sticks in your mind like peanut butter to the roof of your mouth. It's y fave from this album. "Long Distance Call", from their previous release, is I guess them working up to the sound they achieved with greatness with the "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart" album last year. It's still the best track of this somewhat spotty album. They were definitely in transition. I like the little keyboard flourishes, though. "If I Ever Feel Better", starting out with other-worldly organ sounds, kicks into a fantastic soul groove, complete with multi-layered guitars that stab, shimmer, and chime. The video for "Everything is Everything"is cool...and, again lyrically ambivalent enough to put your own meanings to. Maybe that's part of their appeal. You don't seem to focus on a song as a story, but as a collection of phrases that resonate. There's other bands that excel at this to me even more (Interpol, The National for example), but they are far less pop. They go 'rock' a bit more with "Armistice" from 'W.A.M.'. there's some tasty organ bits and hi-hat work in there, too. I finish with "Victim of the Crime" from the decidedly downbeat 'Alphabetical" album. Certain pop elements, but a lingering feeling it's a modern folk song.
Subversive, yes. Enjoyable, even more so.

Sorry some of the videos have ads. Damn YouTube! Enjoy: