Phoenix

Mozart? Not quite. More kitschy reference than homage, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix has an air of sleek sophistication steeped in summery French electro-pop that's still as edgy as any hipster band out of Brooklyn. Mid-album, the band nods to fellow Frenchmen Air and M83 on "Fences" and the "Love Like a Sunset" couplet, which flickers with the feel of an electrical storm. But it's tracks "Lisztomania," "1901" and "Girlfriend" that sizzle like Pop Rocks on the tongue, with snappy guitar and synths that purr alongside Thomas Mars' cool coos.

If you listen to only one song this year about the inner turmoil of 19th-century classical
composer Franz Liszt, make it Phoenix's "Lisztomania." These diabolically crafty French
rockers use the composer (a major teen idol in his day) as a symbol of creative conflict,
with singer Thomas Mars emoting over an exuberant rush of guitar pop. But the band
sounds more musically confident than ever, building on the breakthrough of its... More >