Phoenix: It's Never Been Like That : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

As France’s finest art-rockers, Phoenix have created their own imaginary musical world, set in a 1970s utopia of flashy glam guitar, cream-cheese soul, and Euro-disco melancholia. Thomas Mars, Sofia Coppola’s beau and baby-daddy, is one of the suavest singers around -- even when he’s singing about his tres tragique heartbreak, he makes Sade sound vaguely hysterical. On their excellent third album, It’s Never Been Like That, Phoenix move in a more rock direction, using more guitar and less electronics in nouveau gems such as “Napolean Says” and “Long Distance Call.” Their sound is still spacey, as in “Too Young,” their immortal hit from the Lost in Translation soundtrack. But this time, Phoenix bring darker moods and messier rhythms into the mix, with an aggressive live-band rush: “Second to None” could be the White Stripes jamming with Kraftwerk circa Radioactivity. It’s Never Been Like That is stylishly morose noir pop -- lighter than light, cooler than cool.