“Woo-ha! Singing Ha-lle-lu-jah!” yelps Thomas Mars on the title track of Phoenix’s seventh album, Alpha Zulu. The tensely sprung indie-pop groove was apparently inspired by a bout of airplane turbulence – during which Mars heard the pilot repeating the words “alpha zulu”. And the twitchy-twang of the song brilliantly captures the strange sensation of exhilaration-anxiety you get on a bumpy flight: a stomach-dropper of a bass line, glitchy exhalations from the keyboard, and the sweet thermals of vocal melody. Meanwhile, Mars blurts out surreal and surrendering lines: “Pray to your God/ Cover your lies… There’s a purple cloud in the consommé, ouais!… Why choose your body over time?”
The album – like the song – is packed with an impressive amount of energy and ideas for a band celebrating their 25th anniversary. From the rubbery bounce of Ezra Koenig collaboration “Tonight” through the shimmering pulse of “Winter Solstice”, to the moody swell of “Identical”, all 10 tracks are stacked with hooks, making it as good as their 2009 breakthrough album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.
