Phoenix
United

THE REVIEW

THE FUNK-ROCK THAT WAS BORN IN THE SHADOW OF THE ARC DE TRIOMPHE AND TOURED THE WORLD.

Four young Parisians emerged at the dawn of the new millennium in the pop-rock music scene... They go by the names of: Thomas Mars (vocals), Laurent Brancowitz (guitar), Deck D'Arcy (bass), and Christian Mazzalai (second guitar).

2000: Phoenix's first album, an excellent work with simple and immediate songs that instantly reach the listener's heart. The 10 tracks are almost always sunny and have a sound that vaguely reminds of the 'Police' and in the more funky notes, 'Jamiroquai'. The prowess of the individual musicians is remarkable, as they skillfully perform in some exclusively instrumental pieces: "School's Rules" opens the album, fast and rhythmic; the slower and softer "Embuscade", with accompanying strings and brass, is the only track that completely deviates from the funk-rock style that pervades the rest of the album; "Definitive Breaks" is the third instrumental at the album's close, enveloped in a nocturnal atmosphere, it's the most melancholic track on the album.

The lead single from this album is certainly "If I Ever Feel Better" which had moderate success on international radios, a track with a chorus that captivates everyone's ear, a melody that glides smoothly like velvet. In our opinion, the best song on the album is "Too Young" the second track of the album which, like the aforementioned, features an extremely catchy chorus (this is undoubtedly one of the band's strengths). Worth noting is the unique and interesting "Funky Squaredance" over 9 minutes of mutable and quirky music, melodies that follow and chase each other at a brisk pace, with a musical background that in the very first part of the song falls within the normal canons of the album but around the third minute takes a completely different turn and arrives at even funkier sounds. In the middle of the album with "Party Time", the group abandons the funky influence for two minutes and veers at full speed onto a dirt road of energetic and electric rock, the result is rather disappointing. Much better are the following "On Fire" and "Summer Days" two tracks much more in their element, they fully return to their style, and you can hear it from the ease with which they glide away, gently and cheerfully caressing the listener.

For 'Phoenix', this is a debut undoubtedly on point with the strength of not having too many pretensions and offering simple but extremely engaging melodies. For moments of relaxation and 'doing nothing', there's no more fitting soundtrack.