Prior to 2009’s fantastic Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, the French pop foursome Phoenix lacked a certain je ne sais quoi. To their credit, each album was increasingly better, but overall the catalog was not too exciting and had just a handful of high points. Among those worth mentioning is “Sometimes In The Fall” off their 2006 release It's Never Been Like That.
Similar in style to many of the pop punk tunes we’ve grown accustomed to over the last couple of decades, “The Fall” has a hard driving beat and continuous bang of a power cord, giving it an energy like you are running in a heated race. That heartbeat-like thump of the bass drum combined with a sharp downbeat snare smack immediately invites a little head bob. And once you’re committed to the bob, you are sucked in for at least a minute or so; plenty of time to make it to the song’s hook – the chorus. The high pitch guitar flutter and front man Thomas Mars’ vocals full of his signature lyrical repetition (he repeats words and phrases…a lot!) provide a nice pop counterbalance to the driving punk vibe in the underlined rhythm.
P.S. If you are familiar with "Fences" from Wolfgang, check out this super cool remix.
Love the new look and layout of the blog! Like the remix. Almost goes against the usual stereotype of a remix: more organic and raw vs more tripped out and electronic. Has a very velvet underground feel to it...with a dash of modern lovers (especially the slacker/tired style of singing)...
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