All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Entertainment Weekly

Though the album trips lightly from slinky roller-skate jams ('Fences') to near Brit-rocky rave-ups ('Lasso'), the underlying vibe is both retro and somehow outside of time--like a memory made sweeter than the real thing it recalls.

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100

The Onion (A.V. Club)

Laced throughout all of it are generous, wide-eyed melodies of a kind that makes for swooning sighs and curious feelings of instant nostalgia.

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Drowned In Sound

Whilst Wolfgang Amadeus... is clunker-free, with high points from start to finish, allow me to abandon my critical faculties and gush about 'Love Like a Sunset Part 1', as this instrumental is by far the most incredible moment of the album and also quite possibly the best thing they've ever done.

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The Phoenix

Phoenix deal with an American genre on its own terms--and in its own language--far better than most homegrown bands.

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Pitchfork

They're pleasure-pushers, filling tunes with riffs, phrases, and beats a five-year-old could love. But, on Wolfgang, those same songs are unfulfilled--and this band wouldn't have it any other way. There's beauty in a sunset. Phoenix are wringing it out.

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cokemachineglow

It’s an approximation of what perfection might mean, which is: precise, lean, deliberate. There’s not a wasted moment here, and not one moment overstays it’s welcome, which from a bunch of aristocrats (I get) is pretty frickin’ rich.

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Filter

Just as you're really gearing up for a night on the town with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix as your sidekick, it ends abruptly. There's only one remedy: Play it again. And Again, And again. [Spring 2009, p.94]

No Ripcord

Very few dance albums are, and in the end, that’s what Phoenix created--a dance album, possibly the most enjoyable one since "Oracular Spectacular."

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Delusions of Adequacy

Phoenix doesn’t need to be groundbreaking to reward us with a joyous, endlessly fun album that should sit comfortably in the top 10 on everybody’s list.

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Q Magazine

It may be oversimplifying to invoke the spirit of Radiohead, but this could be Phoenix's "Ok Computer" and "Kid A" rolled into one. [Jun 2009, p.130]

Hot Press

Essentially, the record finds Phoenix doing what they do supremely well – danceable indie-pop with touches of shoegaze guitar and ambient electro.

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Alternative Press

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is an absolute blast, rich in ringing guitar and euphoric synths but thankfully light on fromage and staid rehashes. [Jul 2009, p.130]

Prefix Magazine

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix showcases a band that has only gotten better with each album.

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Dot Music

Aside from the incredible sonics though, Phoenix's real triumph here is successfully contorting the songs into ever more elaborate and unconventional arrangements without losing any of their classy pop impact.

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Billboard

The group has polished its '60s-rock-revivalist sound to near perfection, but keeps expanding its aural palette, experimenting with layered rhythms and sonic textures.

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Uncut

These Varsailles dwellers make records that initially seem like delicately generic powerpop, but gradually emerge as vivid, bittersweet epiphanies. [Jun 2009, p.99]

musicOMH.com

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix is a slender, fat-free affair, all Gallic swerve and subtle swagger. This may well be the album to broaden their fan-base wider then the fashionable glitterati.

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New Musical Express

The real star of the show isn’t the often-bloodless figure of Thomas Mars, it’s the brilliantly detailed production, centred around the dovetailing drum and guitar chops, best heard via headphones for the full stroboscopic effect.

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PopMatters

With Wolfgang, they’ve finally come into their own, releasing the strongest disc of their career without compromising a thing.

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All Music Guide

Beyond containing the band's best, most efficient songwriting, the album also stands apart from the first three studio albums by projecting a cool punch that is unforced.

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Boston Globe

Thomas Mars sings with a casual amiability so hard to resist that it helps carry Phoenix through some of the less immediate material on the album's back half.

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Dusted Magazine

It doesn’t hurt that they’ve made their most pleasing record yet. It’s slick but not stupid, the results of a traditional rock band working closely with a producer of electronic music, one which merges the clean lines of dance music with the grandeur of a crack studio band well-heeled in ’70s pop and ’90s indie rock.

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Urb

The band plainly “rocks” and on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix they have perfectly translated that ability onto their proper recorded output--for better or worse.

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Rolling Stone

The 10 songs are sleek and clean, as if the Strokes had kept pushing a little longer and maybe bought some old disco records.

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Paste Magazine

The album's lyrics don’t always make sense, but then again, English isn’t their first language, and words aren’t the point here, the danceable beats and moody ambience are.

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Austin Chronicle

The bottom falls out of Wolfie's second half --'Rome' declines, 'Countdown' never reaches orbit, and 'Girlfriend,' no--but closer "Armistice" beats fresh out of the dryer on golden Versailles pogo. Merveilleux!

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Spin

These arch Frenchmen make precision-tooled pop that somehow retains a sense of urgency and playfulness--an impressive balancing act consistently slam-dunked by effortlessly ingratiating choruses.

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Los Angeles Times

Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, a truly marvelous album title if ever there was one, is danceable but only a little disco, synth-driven but clubland averse, an easy record to like but a more difficult one to love.

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Slant Magazine

That Wolfgang positions Phoenix as a slightly hipper alternative to the Killers may finally break the band to a wide international audience, but it ultimately draws attention to how quickly trends shift in contemporary rock and how difficult it can be for even the most progressive bands to sustain their relevance.

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Observer Music Monthly

This is sexier than it should be by rights.

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Under The Radar

It's a wide-ranging, covers-all-its-bases album and, like their last release, it's arrived just in time for summer. [Spring 2009, p.67]

The Guardian

Everything sounds precise and almost wilfully sterile, as if the whole thing were played by someone wearing rubber gloves.

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Mojo

There was potential for so much more. [Jun 2009, p.98]

What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this album is 8.4 (out of 10) based on 54 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Ian M gave it a10:
I had never even heard of Phoenix until I found this album, but once I listened to WAP once, I could not stop listening to it! This album is like a breath of satisfyingly fresh air. I have almost all of their albums now, but this is the best one by far! Awesome...that is about all else I can say.

Toby H. gave it an8:
Brilliant first half! Listzomania and Love Like A Sunset (pts. I and II) are definite highlights, the latter surely the best track of the year (after AC's' My Girls'). The first five tracks' sheer exuberance and quality are enough to make this a good album, and whilst tracks like 'Countdown' and 'Armistace' do feel a little anonymous, the beautiful 'Girlfriend' and Strokes-ish 'Rome' make up for them. Wow!

rozzy s gave it a9:
I can't wait to here this live and dance to it with a mass of loved-up fans. This album is one that can easily assume the role of being the soundtrack to your life because it's so addictive and energetic and foot-tapplingly damn good. Lyrics were always going to be a little cheesey- Ils sont francais! I am a fan of montreal aswell but I didn't draw many likeness's beween themselves and Of Montreal. Album art must get a mention here. Reflects the album itself, a colourful ensemble of musical A-bombs!

Ollie ! gave it a10:
This is one of those rare albums that I like every song on, and will probably never get bored of. I can and do listen to it on repeat for most of the work day. My wife also feels the same way, so it's not just me. :) Album of the year!

Reclaimer gave it a9:
Energetic, fun and one that does not wear thin quickly. This is one you can enjoy for quite a while.

Meh Meh gave it a6:
A fun album, but the audio equivalent of a beach novel. Basically sounds like _Is This It_ with a bit more polish and pop. Not worthy of the hype, but worth the $7 I got it for at Target.

Simon S gave it a10:
So catchy and so uplifting. I think I've literally listened to the entire album, from start to finish, 20 times. Favorite song= Big Sun.

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Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

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