- When Phoenix announced their fifth album, Bankrupt! they were very clear about their intentions to progress away from the pop sounds of their highly popular 2009 release, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix into more experimental territory. True to their word, for anyone hoping to find another guitar heavy, pop belter such as Lisztomania you won’t find it, but that’s not to say you won’t like what you do actually find.
The album opener and first single, ‘Entertainment’ is probably the closest to Wolfgang that the band strays for the duration of the album. It is a massive song, the frenetic synths, guitar riffs and intense drums that almost drown out the vocals all combine to create an epic experience.

‘S.O.S In Bel Air’ is a particularly catchy electro pop song that packs plenty of punch and really plays on the loud-soft dynamic to great effect. Even when only in a recorded form, the big chorus with lead vocalist Thomas Mars singing “Alone, alone,” repeatedly is just waiting to be introduced into nightclubs everywhere for an en masse sing-a-long.
The title track, ‘Bankrupt!’ begins as a quirky, slow synth intro that lasts around two minutes. Then a wave of bad horror movie-esque synth noises and the song changes into a quiet, pleasantly dreamy sounding arrangement, similar to the later work of fellow electro indie popsters, MGMT.

By the next song, ‘Drakkar Noir’ Phoenix has returned to the more fervently paced dance mode of previous tracks. The song recalls elements of ‘Entertainment,’ notably the heavily effected guitars and jittery synths, cleverly tying the first half of the album together. The band’s ability to blend and mix a variety of different sounds in what is a very experimental album are a credit to their music ability, something that is probably owed to nearly 15 years of performing together.

It’s impossible to group tracks for the purpose of reviewing them as a collective because even the more nuanced differences between songs completely change the sound. Bankrupt! Is almost like a concept album, repeating themes and riffs throughout to create an end product that is catchy, different and exciting.

Despite the name, ‘Chloroform’ has a warm, tropical atmosphere with big slow synths while ‘Bourgeois’ features an acoustic guitar and some great ambient vocals again from Mars. The final track, ‘Oblique City’ could well have been the opening for this album, it essentially draws together everything that Bankrupt! is and presents it in 3 minutes and 29 seconds. Once again Phoenix have produced a gem, each song has so many great elements, but the real strength of Banrupt! can only truly be discovered with a full album listen.

- Clare Armstrong.