Like the classy band that they are, Phoenix announced their newest album in a story The New York Times on Monday. The French quartet’s Ti Amo will be released June 9 on Glassnote.
The Times feature reveals the story behind the making of the album, which had Phoenix holing away in a Paris studio, where they witnessed their town taking in extra refugees, while also turning more and more alt-right. According to The Times, it’s their most “unabashedly romantic record yet, powered by a sleek, midtempo dance pulse” and is somewhat reminiscent of “summer and Italian discos.” Imagine that.
A lot has happened in the four years since Phoenix dropped Bankrupt!, including the Bataclan terror attack that left 130 concertgoers dead. Guitarist Christian Mazzalai was trapped in the studio when the attack was going on, after Paris police shut down that area of the city.
“At some point when we were in the studio, there was a slight sense of guilt,” singer Thomas Mars told The Times. “But we were comforted by the idea that the four of us working wasn’t escapism or denial … When that became clear, the guilt disappeared.”
The album announcement comes on the tail of the news that they’ll be touring the world. Phoenix have been adding to their list of shows all year, leading fans to believe new music was on the way. At their first show of that tour, on Sunday night, Phoenix unveiled three new songs: “Ti Amo,” “J-Boy” and “Role Model.” Listen to the title track below:
Sound like a summery Italian disco to you?
