Customer Reviews

It's Never Been Like That

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Having followed Phoenix's discography along with Air, Tahiti 80, Zoot Woman, and a long list of other French bands that I found from links that traced back to Daft Punk, I suddenly find them in a class higher above -- and all their own -- compared to many of their ilk.

This is an amazing album, from start to finish. Previous releases "United" and "Alphabetical" were fantasic albums, too, but their ambition outweighed their purpose. That sounds like it might be a good thing, and in many ways it was, but the frailty of "their sound" meant that the textures were always shifting, different from song to song, in a way that kept them from feeling whole.

With "It's Never Been Like That" Phoenix have found their legs to stand on, and developed a sound that manages to evoke all that they've ever been, but at the same time remain completely themselves. This isn't mood music, or something to leave in the background. This is joyous, celebratory, "sing along with your window rolled down" driving music.

This album is rock and pop, get up and dance, sit down and nod. It's everything music should be, played with breathless enthusiasm, yet somehow seeming effortless. Though I risk over-selling it to the point of disappointment, I'm willing to take that risk. These songs will plant their hooks into your brain, and you won't want them to leave.

Key tracks:

+ Consolation Prizes
+ Courtesy Laughs
+ Sometimes In The Fall

Well folks, this is a long overdue review of a record that needs its rightful recognition. Simply put, this should be the album of the year for 2006 (not "Return To Cookie Mountain" by TV On The Radio). This disc is packed full of the kind of rhythms and melodies that will keep you going back to it year after year. "It's Never Been Like That" is one of those rare albums that are great from beginning to end. I am a (still young) high school teacher and have played some of the songs for a few students and they've all reacted positively to what they heard. Questions like why don't they play Phoenix on the radio? and do they have other records? were being asked. As a teacher, I have summer months off from work and I travel to Italy for most of the summer. "It's Never Been Like That" quickly became the soundtrack of the summer for my wife and I. I highly recommend this album and feel confident that you won't be disappointed. As always, allow every album the opportunity to grow on you and I promise you that this album will be one that you keep going back to year after year.
Getting back to my comment about "Return To Cookie Mountain"... I am personally startled that this disc by TV On The Radio is as highly praised by critics and fans as it is. I commented that you should allow an album to grow on you in order to fully understand it and appreciate it, but after more than 10 times listening to "Return To Cookie Mountain", I an still wondering how it is possible that quality albums like "It's Never Been Like That" could get overshadowed by that album.

ENJOY PHOENIX!!!

After a 18 month break after the release of LIVE: Thirty Days Ago, French indie pop-rockers Phoenix return with their new studio album, It's Never Been Like That. Filled with a somewhat chaotic mix of quirky and progressive pop rock, Phoenix offers an album sure to please existing fans of the band.

The album kicks off with the randomly bizarre but surprisingly growing track, Napoleon Says. Nonsensical lyrics like "Napoleon says to take off your coat, Take off your long johns too" combined with random melodies and a solid guitar lead makes for a song that gets better with repeated listens. Consolation Prizes, Lost and Found, and One Time Too Many are the most commercial sounding tracks on the albums, offering lyrics like "my heart is waiting for a new you..and there is no other option on the schedule" with smooth guitar chords and supportive bass lines complementing the melodies.

Long Distance Call and Rally are the most creatively different tracks, filled with random chord and melody changes and jazzy guitar sounds. North is a nice instrumental that just grooves along, and is my favorite track on the album. Courtesy Laughs is another standard mid-tempo song, with Thomas Mars sounding effortlessly cool, while Sometimes In The Fall has a surprisingly addictive chorus. Closing track Second To None sounds extremely fresh and makes for a great ending track.

Phoenix aren't breaking any musical barriers with this record, nor attempting to reinvent the wheel. They tend to stick with their familiar sounds, only occasionally veering off into new territory, but doing all of it with a simplicity that suits them well. The 10 tracks deliver the type of pop that fans of the band have come to expect. Clocking in at just under 42 minutes, this is a relatively quick album, and one that probably needs more than several listens to really delve into the quirkiness that is the band's hallmark. Ultimately though, this an album equally at home on your stereo or blasting from your car speakers.

A.G. Corwin
St. Louis, MO

I'm more and more impressed by Phoenix the longer I listen to them. This record has a beautiful sense of the power of repetition in a pop song. The subtle sonic and lyric shifts allow the songs to flex and bob about themselves, creating songs that more akin to woven compositions than just verse/corus/verse.

Standouts like Rally and One Time Too Many show the bands confidence and ability to know when to layout or build up to strengthen the feel of the song.

My only complaint would be that many of the songs seem truncated right as they might be well served by a real release or extended coda. That said, it gives one a good reason to play it again and again.

I was blown away by these guys in concert. They carried their earlier, more poppy stuff well, but their new stuff really rocked! THis album is full of great tunes that allude a bit to the early 80s punk movement, but also throw a couple unique styles out there. The use of repetition is the most blatant thing on the album that I haven't heard anywhere else. It kinda throws you off at first, but then, you learn to love it- great stuff!

If you've ever seen Phoenix in concert, or at very least heard last year's "Live! 30 Days Ago," you already know that the band's stage performances are a lot more high-energy than the laidback, feel-good pop of their last two albums would suggest. And that's where "It's Never Been Like That" seems to pick up. Forget about their Air connections or early Daft Punk-inspired electro-disco tracks like "Heat Wave," the French quartet's latest is a poppin' rock record, filled with more jangling guitars than the Strokes have been able to muster over the last few years. But don't let that assertion scare you into thinking that Phoenix are jumping on the garage bandwagon a couple of years too late, because that's not the case. Written in the studio with much of the album recorded in one-takes, singer Thomas Mars -- Sofia Coppola's lucky boyfriend -- is still coming up with non-ironic vocal hooks that could sound at home on your favorite MOR station, sandwiched between hits by Hall & Oates and Steely Dan. But quirkier pop charms, from Mars' cleverly oblique lyrics to the thoughtful arrangements, probably place Phoenix closer to the good company of, say, Utopia's early-'80s records, but with a decidedly "indie" feel (one could easily compare "It's Never Been Like That" to Sloan's "One Chord to Another" or "Twice Removed"). Though old fans might be thrown off for a second by the lack of electronics, they'll be pulled right back in by tracks like "Long Distance Call" which has a charged chorus that's every bit as catchy as "Every Thing Is" and "If I Ever Feel Better." The same can be said for the summery strum-fest of "One Time Too Many" or the ringing-guitar-driven "Napoleon Says," while album closer "Second to None" is about as urgent as anything the band has ever done. If today's top-40 radio were at all relevant, Phoenix would be sitting at number one with a bullet in the high summer days between the 4th of July and Bastille Day.

If youre looking for a similar sound to Alphabetical, this is not it. "Its never Been Like That" is a mix of the less notable tracks from "United" and some funk and soul from "Alphabetical". Like I said before, you'll be disappointed if youre looking for the same sound as Alphabetical, but dont be turned off. The Cd is actually really great, but it will take a few listens to really like it. I think "Consolation Prizes" , "Courtesy Laughs", and "Napolean Says" are the best track while "Lost and Found" and "North" arent the best. All the other tracks are good and will still take a few more listens for me to cozy up to. I think a good band is one that keeps reinventing themselves and is contstantly changing and Phoneix does that well.

Although I'm having a hard time understanding the lyrics, musically these guys sound like a softer, more accessible Strokes. Right now I'm listening to track #2 "Consolation Prizes", and I really like the rhythm of this track. The rousing drums and guitars have a real Americana rock sound you don't hear that much these days. Vocals, while not so original, are not grating or overproduced. I hear some electronic synths, but they're used in moderation. Nothing on this album is over-produced or overdone. A nice blend of catchy tunes and quirky lyrics.

Overall a catchy and easy to listen to album from this french foursome. Well done!

Although United and Alphabetical had several great moments, they failed to create what this new album does. This is Phoenix's first really great "album." Meaning that every song is as good as the next and they melt together to create an unbelievable set of songs. This seems to me to be more of a straight forward poppy rock album, every track can be danced to. From start to finish this is by far superior to their past work (which I also love) and it should be listened to by anyone who liked their older stuff. This to me is just the perfect rock album right now. This is by far one of the best albums I have heard in recent memory.

I dont know how they exactly did it but this band crafted a nearly perfect gem of pop songs. There's some punk and 80's influences but the band makes music that certainly stands on its own. There's also a mature sense of irony in several of the songs that makes replays of the CD fun if you're older than 16. Very impressive singing in a "rock/pop" style. The studio mixing brings out the strengths of the band.