Born out of restlessness and a steady hunt for inspiration, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is a career-defining album, filled with the band’s signature melding of synthetics and organics, sharp, danceable rhythms, infectious choruses with a considerable dose of aural panache, and candy-colored pop sensibilities. These songs are some of their most exuberantly playful, yet also some of the most complex they’ve recorded, more layered and intensely propulsive than previous efforts. Indeed, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is nothing short of elative, creating what is sure to be the soundtrack to late-night summer adventures all over the globe. Staying true to what makes Phoenix so special, a sense of whimsical breeziness envelopes these songs, as if they’ve sprung fully-formed from the band’s collective creative hands in a state of utter pop perfection.
From opener and first single “Lisztomania,” it’s clear this is Phoenix light-years beyond anything they’ve done before, a testament to the record’s finely-tuned intricacy and melodic structures. “1901” leaps out of the speakers, already vying for the Best Song of 2009, with its fizzy power synths, rollicking drums and downright anthemic chorus. “Fences” is velvet-smooth and soulful, twinkling like a disco ball above the dancefloor with shimmering keys, chugging acoustic guitars and Thomas’ lovelorn croon, while “Love Like A Sunset” is the band at their experimental best, allowing the song to build in billowing sound and unhinged keyboard noises until it all melts away, leaving only Thomas’ transcendent vocal at the end. “Rome” will inevitably be the score to a film scene where the male lead turns his back on his love, with its cinematic, psychedelic keyboard chorus, syncopated guitar and lyrical declarations of a love that’s fallen like the ancient European capital. Closing track “Armistice” is coiled and sinister, ending the album with staggered keyboard notes left hanging in the balance.
I have high hopes! They surely won’t let me down. I have been rocking “1901″ pretty consistantly.
