It was an album with a generous amount of gorgeously catchy singles with some more left field tracks to break things up; essentially a near perfect indie pop record that really puts them alongside other French breakouts such as Air and Daft Punk.
Bankrupt! is less perfect, but it is clear that Phoenix have tried not to fall into the rut of monotony that following a breakthrough album usually can lead to. There are glimmers of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix but mixed with more unusual, synth-heavy turns, such as the excellent ‘S.O.S. In Bel Air’ and ‘Trying To Be Cool’ which sit as breezy summer pop songs that, at times, wouldn’t sound out of place on an excellent ‘80s radio station, and the Oriental riffs in ‘Entertainment’.
An album that feels like it’s designed specifically for a beach party, it does help that occasionally the tone is brought down a little. The constant, bouncy vibrancy starts to go a tad stale when you begin to reach the Passion Pit-esque ‘Chloroform’, but luckily the title track breaks things up with a more brooding feel and ‘Bourgeois’ leads into the final track with an almost Washed Out-inspired wooziness, although closer ‘Oblique City’ does feel like a bit of a damp squib to finish with.
With the success of Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, it seemed as though they might rest on their laurels coming into Bankrupt!, but instead they’ve decided to experiment and see what they can do with this new found success. All the more for it, because we get a great album packed with summery pop songs.
4/5
Recommended download: ‘S.O.S. In Bel Air’
