Sound Salvation Army

That’s right: ask and you shall receive!

I have no idea what prompted it, but on the post regarding the latest Mountain Goats EP a commenter asked for some good pop music. Well, here’s your chance to listen to a few cuts of what will be the single greatest guitar-pop album of the year.

Had this website existed back in 2006, I probably would have thoroughly gushed about Phoenix’s last full-length, It’s Never Been Like That (thankfully released in Canada on Arts & Crafts, netting it a pretty wide distribution). The band craft taught, wiry power pop that stands on its own. Despite three years lapsing between albums, they’ve been mentioned once or twice before as a reference point.

New album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix finds the band in a curious spot. Yes, they played Saturday Night Live and killed it (playing the incredibly rare third song to boot), but nobody knew who they were before that and people still don’t seem to. At the same time Wolfgang is probably their tightest and most well-constructed album yet. Phoenix are like the Snuggie of the indie rock world: they’re sound is so warm, fuzzy, and comforting even in its darkest moments I can’t see how it’d be possible to resist it. Right from “Lisztomania” on through one of their darkest, most brooding and meandering tracks “Love Like A Sunset” the keyboards are unrelenting. The keyboards wash over the entire thing and just make it feel like a comforting old blanket. Gosh I’m sleepy right now.

Lyrically the band writes with a clarity one would not expect from some French dudes writing in English, their second language. Their lyrics come in crisply-penned, short couplets that are surprisingly insightful (when you can make out what they’re saying).

Anyway, here’s a few songs to enjoy; one of them is old and my favourite Phoenix song ever.

 

 Phoenix - Lisztomania [4:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Phoenix - Lasso [2:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Phoenix - Consolation Prize [3:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

North Americans ought to try InSound for physical copies of Phoenix records. iTunes is there for digital consumption as well.

If you have some extra scheckels laying around pick up the ridiculous super-ultra-limited edition release which features vinyl, artwork, special DVD release, and a special vinyl album with 48 fucking demos from the recording sessions for the record. Forty-eight! What the what?

Pat entries Arts & Crafts, guitar pop, Phoenix, pop rock, Saturday Night Live, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

There’s something to be said about musicians that aren’t really talented. Usually they’re very bad but excel at self-promotion and suckering people into making their product better than they would ever be able to on their own.

Having said that, I love the Lonely Island guys. Be it their Saturday Night Live digital shorts or their new album, Incredibad, I really dig what they’re putting down. The video and song above for “I’m On A Boat” are likely the single greatest thing I’ve seen and listened to this year. If there’s one thing the group does best in the musical realm, it is spot-on satirizing of grandiose hip-hop song structure and content.

While “I’m On A Boat” is the most well-known example, album track “Like A Boss” comes in a close second in that regard. Andy Samberg professes his aptitude as lead of a generalized office environment in a tone-perfect send-up of every hardened rapper ever, lending authentic menace and incredible juxtaposition to buzzword-speak like, “Promote synergy,” and “Direct workflow.” From there his braggadocio extends to detailing a manic and ludicrous average workday that includes sucking his own dick and eating chicken strips.

The hip-hop send-ups are by far the most successful aspects of the disc, which explains why there are so many of them. Also a nice touch is the raspy delivery on “Boombox,” which ratchets up the tension of the ludicrous verses before the dude from the Strokes comes on and actually makes a song better for once in his life. Lyrically it is a little bizarre; I’m not really certain where Samberg got the idea that bourgeoisie white folks eat a lot of boiled goose, but its a pretty good joke.

Less successful are most of the skits on the album, which much like a regular rap CD are horrendous. There’s a few songs that feel unfinished, especially one-note ideas like “Space Olympics” that rely a lot on the accompanying videos to really help the jokes land.

The total product has an odd duality to it. Like most comedy albums, much of the material loses its luster upon repeat spins. But it also feels like about half the tracks transcend comedy album status; if I heard “I’m On A Boat” or “Jizz In My Pants” in a nightclub, I’d be dancing. So what we’re left with is exactly what every record label is after: an album that has to be purchased to get the maximum enjoyment out of it. The DVD included in the physical package is going to make all the difference and really prop up some of the slower, more staid moments.

That’s a really smart move for a group releasing its first album and a sure step towards producing a second one. I know I’ll look forward to it.

 

 the Lonely Island - Like A Boss [1:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 the Lonely Island - Punch You In The Jeans [2:47m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Incredibad can be purchased digitally from iTunes, where they’re like number one all the time or something. If you’re into things that are totally incongruent and unnecessary, you can purchase this music, on which there is only one single actual instrument in the whole works, on vinyl LPz. CD is available on InSound too.

Pat entries Add new tag, comedy, hip hop, Saturday Night Live, the Lonely Island