It’s Never Been Like That by PHOENIX
VIDEO: “Consolation Prizes”
While Phoenix’s previous album Alphabetical was clean and polished in that almost over the top way, their most recent album ‘It’s never been like that,’ captures their ability of combining this clean pop rock with an edgier and rougher sound. With a heavier emphasis on drums, and slowly letting go of the synthesizer we got so familiar with in their first album United and their European hit ‘If I ever feel better,’ the band establishes themselves as an evolving rock band that holds on to their signature aesthetic and style, but doesn’t ignore the rougher rock and roll sounds that have been going on around them. Thank god the lyrics are still filled with French dryness, and the strange English sentence structure that doesn’t seem to make any sense, but gets across that drenched romantic self- pity that we know so well from their other albums and that we secretly learned to love. (“I doubt your intentions are to make me feel any better today, I even doubt tomorrow will be as easy as it was, I’ve changed, you’ve changed, It’s not the same, tell me what’s the difference if I go back to normal again?”) .
-Judith Goudsmit
Add comment September 28th, 2006