Four years after the release of their last album “Bankrupt!,” Phoenix is back with a vengeance. The Versailles, Paris-based band will release the “Bankrupt!” follow-up, “Ti Amo,” early next month, and it’s being described as the French disco-rockers’ response to the dark times in their country that have changed the mood of their music.
The record was recorded during troubled times in Paris amid political and social tensions over the past few years. (As an example, guitarist Christian Mazzalai was trapped in the recording studio in the immediate aftermath of the Bataclan attacks in November 2015).
Daniel Glassman, the head of the band’s record label Glassnote Records, told the New York Times the band’s sixth album “came out of darkness” and “concern.”
Two new singles have been released
While the rest of the album remains to be heard, two singles from Phoenix’s “Ti Amo” have now been released. The lead single, “J-Boy,” was released by the record company last month and the Title Track is now available. While much of the new album is said to have a darker tone amid today’s issues, “Ti Amo” is more of a traditional new wave tune than a social commentary. The song starts out with a soft-spoken spoken word intro and it is described as a “romantic song about the tragedy of unreciprocated love and desire.”
Phoenix first formed in the mid-1990s as a garage band in the suburbs of Paris.
In addition to Christian Mazzalai, Phoenix consists of lead singer Thomas Mars, bassist Deck d'Arcy, and guitarist Laurent Brancowitz. According to Rolling Stone, Phoenix has embarked on a world tour this year that will include festival dates in Spain and France as well as the Governors Ball in New York and Glastonbury in England.
The band's music has appeared on several Coppola movie soundtracks
Phoenix’s songs can also be heard on the soundtrack to the upcoming Nicole Kidman film, “The Beguiled,” which is directed by Mars’ wife of six years, Sofia Coppola. Phoenix provided music for several of Coppola’s past films, including “The Bling Ring” and “Somewhere.” U.S.
fans may have seen Phoenix as part of comedian Bill Murray’s 2015 Netflix special, “A Very Murray Christmas,” where they band performed a cover of the Beach Boys song “Alone on Christmas Day.”
Phoenix’s new album “Ti Amo” will be available in stores on June 9. You can listen to the band's second single from “Ti Amo” in the video below.
