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If you’ve subscribed to the pmaBlast newsletter, you know how fond PMA is of Phoenix’s newest single, “Lisztomania.” Luis has already claimed it as one of his favorites of the year. While I won’t go that far yet (not with all of MPP to compete with AND PB&J’s “Nothing To Worry About”), I will go as far to say that Phoenix has crafted a great pop-rock track that should be playing on all of your pods this week and beyond (update- this opinion has been changed with a few more listens…read on).
“Lisztomania,” with its hypnotic drum beat, smooth vocals, and dance-rock awesomeness, grabs you from the opening beat; exactly what an album-opener needs to accomplish. It becomes truly great once the drums kick out, leaving only the keyboard and the voice of Thomas Mars, who beautifully tells us that we’ve “got to let it go.” The song rocks on, sounding like an electroed-out version of The Kooks. It’s catchy, it’s dancey, it’s memorable, and ultimately it’s a great work of “frenchie” pop-rock. After a few listens, I’ve decided I agree with Luis- this is already one of 2009′s best tracks.
[rating:82/100]
[download#18]*
“Fences,” another recent track to drop from Phoenix’s upcoming album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, doesn’t reach the greatness of “Lisztomania,” but is another pretty, dancable, hypnotic track that shows Phoenix continuing to expand and build on their sound. While I was never a massive fan of their earliest stuff, Phoenix is clearly coming into their element with Wolfgang, and this has the potential to be one of 09′s great dance-pop-rock albums. We shall see. “Fences” gets 7.5 bulbs.
[rating:75/100]
[download#19]*
