BANKRUPT! BY PHOENIX

Bankrupt! by Phoenix

If you look at the pop-art artwork and listen to Phoenix's recent 10 mini epics, you get the feeling that they had it all planned out on their 2013 masterwork, Bankrupt!  And considering how such precise artistic visions have had a history of almost bankrupting labels (see Loveless by My Bloody Valentine), the title works, too. This is the kind of album that leaves you wondering if each song took five minutes, five hours, five days or five months to map out.  It's clear that Phoenix is talented, but the curious listener in me wonders if they are talented and efficient.  Just how brilliant are they? In the end, it doesn't matter because this fruit smoothie they have mixed is delicious and is indicative of a band that has studio know-how, instrumental prowess and a legitimate gift.  Bankrupt! is wonderful and exhilerating! 

Oh, and by the way—it's nice to hear actual songs in this electronic blender.

Bankrupt! by Phoenix