The Musicmen Cometh!
This is the marriage of two musical minds, Josh Bain and Nolan Ross. Friends since high school, they've seen the seven wonders of the world, jumped from helicopters, hang-glided, climbed Mt. Everest, and even offered jokes over dinner with Bono, Springsteen, Clapton, and others.
Okay, none of that is true except the friends since high school part. Nonetheless, these guys love music and love talking about it. We hope you enjoy it.
Review for “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”
Whatever happened to Doritos having only two distinct flavors? Cool Ranch and Nacho Cheese. That was it. You either went with cheese or the slightly sour ranch. Both were timeless and you’d be hard pressed to find someone eight years ago who would’ve asked for more. At this point, there are handfuls of different Doritos styles and flavors. I do not like this. I am a simple guy. Change doesn’t come easy for me - especially in the food genre. You add all these chipotle, bbq, chili, pizza combinations and you soon forget how they started out. I’m over all that.
Phoenix had me at Alphabetical. Dance-y, but not too dance-y. Funk, but not too funky. You just couldn’t beat a song like “Everything is everything” in 2004. They ride the line of writing great guitar hooks amidst the easy going vocals of Thomas Mars, usually with a “la-la” pop sensibility and throwing in the occasional computer loop and/or program. This works for them well. These thoughts date back to 2004 when I first heard Alphabetical.
Fast forward to the next proper follow-up, It’s Never Been Like That and they lost me. I was essentially, done with Phoenix for a bit. I’d had my taste. The fun was great while it lasted, but they’d thrown in too many flavors I didn’t understand. The synths weren’t doing what it used to do, the 70s pop feel was gone, and the songwriting was on the decline as a whole. But then.
I heard the single, “1901” on their website one day. I was filled with glee again! But wait! ”This is Phoenix?” was my question. Could it really be? It was. And is. Their website even declared, “We Are Phoenix.” That might not mean much to the average Phoenix fan, but to me, this was a return to greatness. To the ole times of yore that we all reminisced of over bonfires drinking our coffee and smoking our pipes. ”Lisztomania” reaffirmed our suspicion that it might be a premature feeling. Phoenix is back!
One need only to hear a song like “Countdown” and realize that this is the Phoenix we’ve all been waiting for. No bad song on this disc at all. The only complaint you will hear from me is the brevity of the record. They could have written more, but I’m being greedy. When I hear “Armistice,” the last song, it’s really just the end of the beginning. Let’s just say, the record just came out last week to Itunes and I haven’t stopped spinning it. Over and over again.
If Doritos took a note from Phoenix’s book and returned to true form, everyone’s happy! For now, I’ll eat my Cool Ranch and Nacho Cheese flavor and listen to Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix over and over again.
