Phoenix unlikely to rise this time
New release ditches catchy pop that made band so listenable
There is a phenomenon in music and sports known as the sophomore slump. The idea is that spellbinding success or a great artistic achievement from a rookie is nearly impossible to follow up. The Strokes are the best example. The band lit a fuse in the recording studio for their first album Is This It and then saw every other album fizzle out like so many wet firecrackers.
And it’s not only sophomore efforts that suffer this slump — any spike in quality leads to later trouble. Surprise success is just a devil of a thing for a band to manage. You win some fans, get their hopes up and then you have to hit those heights again.
Phoenix, a French band featuring airy vocals and electronica influences, broke out in 2009 with their boldly-titled fourth album Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. It was a sharp, energetic record that’s hard to find fault with and it received critical acclaim and solid sales numbers, going gold in Canada and the U.S.
The followup, Bankrupt!, has all the hallmarks of a band struggling to evolve artistically while trying to satisfy a legion of new fans.
One key rule of following up a hit album is to manage expectation. When the founder of the band’s label said the new album wouldn’t just beat their last one but that it “could be revolutionary,” he was doing them no favours.
It’s true that with Bankrupt!, the band explores more experimental sounds, shifting away from the catchy pop of their previous record, but the catchy pop was what made them so listenable in the first place. The new songs seem to build up to a hook and then take a right turn. It’s less like an experiment and more like deliberate sabotage and it’s pure frustration for a listener.
Even the little quirks that worked so well for Phoenix in the past don’t quite hit their mark. Repeated lines pepper their songs and, previously, they were catchy little moments outside of the chorus. That trick doesn’t work on Bankrupt! and those lines, some sung three or four times in quick succession, seem pointless and annoying.
In 2009, this was a band making floaty, joyous pop music and the name Phoenix didn’t really fit. Bankrupt!, though, is an arid, flat affair that never really grabs the listener’s interest. It’s a 40-minute drive through the stolid desert. Like a lot of bands following up a hit record, they’re trying to please too many masters — the old fans, the new fans, their artistic sensibilities — and end up leaving everyone unsatisfied.