It's Never Been Like That

Aristocrats of sophisticated French pop, Phoenix have abandoned their refined stylings and begun mixing it with the indie-rock great unwashed. Okay, not quite, but there is certainly more of a rugged feel to this record than on any of their other two catchy but slightly vacuous albums United and Alphabetical.
The volte-face was brought on by the Gallic gang abandoning the cosy confines of their own studio in Versailles – see what I said about their blue blood? – and holing up instead in the less luxurious surroundings of a studio in East Berlin. The results are immediate. Opening track ‘Napoleon Says’ is a more airbrushed but equally thrilling version of Editors’ ‘Munich’. Phoenix still like to parade their chic credentials, but their sound is now a little less haute couture and a little more pret-a-porter.
The band sound enamoured with this new found freedom to cut loose. They have kept the ability to craft charming hooks but now marry these mellifluous melodies with something a bit meatier. The shimmering single ‘Long Distance Call’ has some typically Phoenix keys chiming with an atypical unruly chorus. The pulsating ‘Sometimes In The Fall’ has a positively ecstatic singalong vibe that undermines any of the band’s lingering detached cool.
The record is snappy and, even with the odd misstep, breezes past with a summery insouciant swagger. Their glossy phototshop-pop sheen remains but Phoenix are now slumming it in straight-up guitar rock territory. And it suits them.