After five years of studio album silence, the respectable French rockers Phoenix record their seventh one at the famed Louvre in Paris. Alpha Zulu has Phoenix going for their tried and true synth pop while also mixing things up. This leads to generally predictable, fan pleasing and sometimes baffling results that leave me scratching what's left on my head.
French rockers Phoenix are quite possibly the most agreeable and enjoyable group in popular alternative pop music... and I'm including MGMT, Arctic Monkeys, and Vampire Weekend on that list. What do all these groups have in common? They've all amassed a stadium-sized presence in fandom, have major hits that have defined the alt pop genre, have critically acclaimed work and knowing that they've reached huge successes during the late 2000's to early 2010's, are commonly noted that they are past their "prime" or "heyday." This is understandable. I mean, every band these days will be categorized as this if they've had past hits and a fanbase gradually dwindling over time. I won't argue and say that Phoenix will never make another record that had the same cultural impact that Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix did in 2009. This is tomfoolery and I will not declare that any aging band's talents are up simply because they are 5+ albums in.
What I will say is that the more recent output from Phoenix has been predictable and generally crowd pleasing. It's shockingly been five years since the band's last album, Ti Amo. It's the band's first misstep for me, personally. I respect the band's decisions to try a new sunburnt, almost vaporwave-like "vibe" as the kids call it, but the production and mixing is too washed out and the overt usage of reverb covers up a lot of the potential of that record. I generally like this album if I squint at the mixing choices (I do own it on vinyl, after all) but in comparison with their previous work, it doesn't reach the standard I've been expecting from a Phoenix record. Despite some gems like "Telefono," "J-Boy" and "Goodbye Soleil," looking back five years on this album is ultimately forgettable for me. Five years later, the band came together to record at the Louvre to create Alpha Zulu, the band's seventh studio album. I mean... the Louvre of all places, what's more Phoenix-y than that?
First things first, Phoenix have smartly decided to get rid of the washed out production style that was used on Ti Amo. Thank goodness. Also what's most notable is the band's decision to once again stick to their guns across the majority of Alpha Zulu. By this I mean provide Wolfgang and Bankrupt!-era synth/drum machine pop that Phoenix have pretty much perfected at this point. "Tonight," a duet between frontman Thomas Mars and Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, is a prime example of Phoenix's clear attempt to revive and recycle 2009 indie pop as if it never left the charts or the blogosphere. The single goes over pretty nicely and it's one of the album's better songs for sure. I'll admit the instrumental could've gone a little bit harder though. Is this Phoenix's best take on this sound and style? No, but I think it gets the job done with surprising vocal assistance from Koenig. "The Only One" is a Bankrupt! revival and "After Midnight" is a Wolfgang one. These two songs are two other highlights on the album that will stick in your head even if you've heard them once.
When Phoenix aren't trying to give you b-sides to their most successful albums and decide to mix things up for a change, that's when things seem to go off the rails a bit. The album's lead single and title track, "Alpha Zulu," is single handedly the band's worst song in their career. Am I overexaggerating here? Let Thomas Mars' repeated "woo-hah" and "halle-halle-lu-jah" vocal inflections answer directly for you. Despite the okay instrumental, these vocal inflections simply ruin any chance the song has to be decent at the very least. It's truly shocking that this was chosen as the lead single... I was very stressed that this album was going to have nine more of these. The fact that the album is named after it too is the cherry on top of a cringe-filled sundae. I do believe it's Phoenix's blatant attempt at making a viral hit song on Tik-Tok or whatever and after viewing its social media-ready music video, all signs point to yes. I have no idea what the band is doing with "Winter Solstice." I still don't know what to think of its cold, sparse synths but it's just way too isolated and hollow to be enjoyable or even interesting enough to hit repeat. "Artefact" is just a Strokes song, plain and simple. It's pleasant for sure but if I wanted this I'd go back and listen to Room on Fire. "All Eyes on Me" is another Alpha Zulu-like moment that's a bit irritating with some repeated vocal inflections and melodies that I'd rather not hear on a Phoenix song. It's growing on me a little despite this but... eh. Another surprise is that "Identical" is the last song on the album, which was released over two(!) years ago for Mars' partner Sofia Coppola's movie On the Rocks. It's an okay song when I first heard it. Having it be the final moment on the album though feels very weird, awkward and anticlimactic, considering it sounded like a b-side at best to begin with.
So yeah, you can probably predict my overall feelings towards Alpha Zulu by now. I know, I know, I didn't like this one that much. But I don't think this is necessarily a bad album at all... but it's not a good one either. As an individual who grew up as a massive Phoenix fan and am still considered to be a fan, I should be enjoying this one. Right? Since they are repeating the very tried and true formula that the fans continue to love. Right? I don't know if it's the fact that when I was a tween I listened to so much damn Phoenix my ears could've fallen off or if it's the fact that this style of 2008-13 era indie pop just isn't that interesting to me as much in 2022. Or if it's just dumb ole me, myself and I. I'm sure many Phoenix fans will eat this one up but I can't really say I'm going to return to this one anytime soon. There are some moments that I like and I appreciate the band going in slightly different styles but they're not exactly what I want to hear. What do I want to hear from Phoenix in 2022? I honestly don't know! I wish I could tell ya! I don't want that same style from them but I don't know what different direction for them to go in either. But certainly if you're still stuck in 2010 then this album will definitely scratch this itch for you. I applaud anyone whose minds are still stuck in 2010 but as for me, I'm still craving that experimental post punk I simply just can't get enough of. More black midi, please!
My Rating: 6 / 10
Favorite Songs: "Tonight," "The Only One," "After Midnight"
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