Phoenix are often mentioned in the same breath as fellow Frenchmen Daft Punk and Air, and they certainly incorporate some shades of electronic pop and disco into their sound. Tonight though, they stand before us primarily as a rock band. They are, in many ways, a perfect rock band, but they still fall short of being a great one.
Oh, how we adore Phoenix, high-priests of Parisian easy listening and a band that recognizes the difference between louche and sleazy. Word was that, after the comparative failure of their last record, the newie would cleave to a conventional indie aesthetic. Well, the guitars are a little bit more fizzly. In all other respects: as classy as high tea at served on a silver tray.
Like the Alphabet album that provides its home, ‘Everything Is Everything’ has a lovely timbre to it, a just right mix of the electronic and the organic that just seems to slide out of the speakers.
Alphabetical certainly picks up where United left us; the Americana idiom is still there, juxtaposed with drum machines, synths and playful pop structures.
