It's Never Been Like That

Recorded in Berlin and laser-focused, this is the sound of Phoenix finding themselves. Out go the pristinely produced R&B numbers and in come high-grade indie bangers, all garnished with the guttural grunts of Thomas Mars’ newly confident delivery. Chiming clarion-calls (“Napoleon Says”), glam-inflected anthems (“Courtesy Laughs”), rumbling New Wave (“Sometimes In the Fall”); nothing is beyond their grasp. And the melodies are huge enough to hit the back of the biggest festival field imaginable.