The Daily Spin, November 4
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix | Phoenix
Welcome back to the Daily Spin, the series in which I review 365 albums during 2023.
Each album will be given a rating on a scale from 0 to 10. You can look at the entire set here. Additionally, you can check out a list of my favorite songs from each album right here.
Album: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (2009)
Artist: Phoenix
Link:
Phoenix, to me, is possibly the definitive example of a band that always baffles me for not being bigger. They’re one of the definitive acts of the late 2000s and early 2010s indie rock scene in my head, with this album in particular a standout, echoes of Coldplay’s paramount sound glimpsed throughout this album or of Vampire Weekend’s energetic guitars, almost frantic.
Then again, sometimes I listen to the discordant notes of ‘Love Like a Sunset’ as it spirals and I wonder if they wanted it - until the song comes back together and I’m left with the pieces of my hypothesis in my hands before I could even form it.
At the very least, this is a really enjoyable album. It feels precise - despite the general roughness of the instruments, nothing ever feels heavy-handed or extraneous, as though each reverb was selectively placed with the utmost care.
It’s the sort of album where it’s hard to pick a favorite and a least favorite - the two front tracks are the clear best of the record and maybe of Phoenix’s entire discography, but outside of that? What a delightfully consistent record to enjoy.
Rating: 8.4/10
Best Tracks: Lisztomania; 1901; Armistice
Worst Tracks: Girlfriend