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Alpha Zulu Image
Metascore
84

Universal acclaim - based on 17 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 31 Ratings

  • Summary: The seventh full-length studio release for French indie pop band Phoenix was recorded at The Louvre and features a guest appearance from Ezra Koenig.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. 100
    All 10 tracks are stacked with hooks, making it as good as their 2009 breakthrough album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. ... Mars’s sophisticated stream-of-consciousness lyrics operate in perfect synchronicity with the album’s sound. Melancholy themes of mortality are balanced by a giddy commitment to seizing the dance floor moment.
  2. Nov 4, 2022
    90
    Phoenix's most immediate work since Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix and their most varied since United, Alpha Zulu does indeed range from A to Z, but the band are always in control and the results are frequently brilliant.
  3. 80
    Alpha Zulu is a robust addition to their already acclaimed catalogue.
  4. 80
    Alpha Zulu confronts reality with a dreamy neon-lit elegance pulsing with playful vitality, it runs on its nerves but has its feet on the dance floor.
  5. Uncut
    Nov 15, 2022
    80
    The band continues to elevate themselves into one of the country's finest pop exports. [Jan 2023, p.23]
  6. Nov 3, 2022
    73
    Alpha Zulu may not be the best Phoenix album, but it is another reminder of their artistic stability and growth, a genuine triumph for a band with seven albums in tow.
  7. Nov 3, 2022
    60
    Alpha Zulu is everything a Phoenix album has been already: slick, silly, maximalist. ... They mine nostalgia for call-backs (Tonight); find comedy in impending doom (Alpha Zulu). But the boys are ageing and, separated initially by lockdown, an emotional core burned a hole in the centre of this new record instead of a six-minute space-bound instrumental.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 13
  2. Negative: 1 out of 13
  1. Nov 7, 2022
    10
    Por mucho su mejor álbum, superando al mismo que ganó el Grammy en 2010.

    Fácil de escuchar, muy dance, entretenido y consistente en su
    Por mucho su mejor álbum, superando al mismo que ganó el Grammy en 2010.

    Fácil de escuchar, muy dance, entretenido y consistente en su estilo, sin caer en coros cliché o ser predecible
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  2. Nov 26, 2022
    10
    Do yourself a favor and give this album a few spins. It's an inspired pop masterpiece from an outstanding band at the top of their game.
  3. Nov 4, 2022
    10
    I was genuinely surprised at how great this album is. Despite it being fairly short, it is packed with very impressive songs (especiallyI was genuinely surprised at how great this album is. Despite it being fairly short, it is packed with very impressive songs (especially Tonight and Season 2). This is definitely a strong return for Phoenix. Expand
  4. Nov 4, 2022
    10
    This is a huge return to form for Phoenix! Feels like the combination of all their greatest skills as songwriters and producers comingThis is a huge return to form for Phoenix! Feels like the combination of all their greatest skills as songwriters and producers coming together here just when we needed them the most. Standouts for me were Winter Solstice, Tonight, After Midnight, The Only One. Expand
  5. Nov 5, 2022
    9
    Great, solid and enjoyable album. It didn't (positively) surprise me as much as Ti Amo (with it's awesome 80's Italian pop influence andGreat, solid and enjoyable album. It didn't (positively) surprise me as much as Ti Amo (with it's awesome 80's Italian pop influence and thematic); but it is a very very good work. Tonight is among their Top 3 songs ever, but many more are outstanding (the new version of Identical blew my mind). I give them 9/10 because it's too damn short... only 35 min of amazing music is not enough. Can't wait to see them live in Berlin in ~2 weeks.  Expand
  6. Jun 23, 2023
    8
    After all of those years without hearing from them it´s awesome to know that it is a great record, takes indie songs to a new level and makesAfter all of those years without hearing from them it´s awesome to know that it is a great record, takes indie songs to a new level and makes us feel comfortable with the songs. It´s like they knew what they were doing on the biggest part of the record, that are some mistakes like some medium pop songs, but it doesn´t make the record worse, it´s a great record Expand
  7. Mar 6, 2023
    0
    I would never have heard the title track of this album if it weren't for my gym's need to commit acoustic torture during business hours.I would never have heard the title track of this album if it weren't for my gym's need to commit acoustic torture during business hours. Warcrimes. I get to hear lots of trashy pop music.

    I don't know how music this dorky gets heard outside of a handful of people. Friends, family, the casualties that happen to have ventured into the coffee shop during that open mic night. That sort of thing.

    Perhaps this is why people abandon the music industry, even as consumers, like rats abandoning a sinking ship. Trashy business people make poor artistic decisions. They aren't developed enough as humans to make anything most others want, but they are sleazy enough to profit off of it.

    This song is the intersection of our culture's spiraling pop art, a dying music industry, and the fact that you can profit by appealing to the lowest common denominator.
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See all 13 User Reviews