Phoenix aren’t letting tumultuous times get to them. Even though the band can’t help but be aware of the darkness in the world, they aren’t letting it anywhere near their infectious brand of indie-pop. They called their upcoming album Ti Amo as “incredibly colorful” in a New York Times profile, and the paper itself described it as a carrying shades of “summer and Italian discos.” On the album’s first single “J-Boy,” we can see what they were all driving at.
The song starts off with a descending and distorted bass sound and for just a second the track feels like it’s going to swing into a breakbeat. But before the song can go more B-Boy than J-Boy, the band kicks in with shimmering keyboards that sound like “Baba O’Riley” cut loose from Pete Townshend’s moralizing. Though the band said grappled with the guilt of making such an unabashedly happy album at this current moment, we’re so very glad that they did.
Check out “J-Boy” up top and take a look at the full tracklisting for Ti Amo below.
1. “J-Boy”
2. “Ti Amo”
3. “Tuttifrutti”
4. “Fior Di Latte”
5. “Lovelife”
6. “Goodbye Soleil”
7. “Fleur De Lys”
8. “Role Model”
9. “Via Veneto”
10. “Telefono”
Ti Amo is out June 9 via Glassnote.
