Bankrupt! - Phoenix

Phoenix is a band of constant hits, that always gets 2 or 3 big songs per album.  This album is almost the exception.  Although the album cover looks like a pattern that belongs on a tomato red tourist's shirt, this is another Phoenix album with some of the strange and pleasing synth-sounds that made Phoenix famous.  Bankrupt! is the album that bands usually do when slowing down successfully, or even last album material.  This doesn't mean that it's exempt of good music, but it is lacking in the kind of originality and fun music that made this amazing French band famous.

The big hit that mostly got the album rolling commercially is Entertainment, a song that uses Asiatic kinds of instruments and noises, slightly portraying the Phoenix spirit, all the while complementing itself with great vocals.  Another song is, my personal favorite right now, The Real Thing, a song that takes twists and turns, all the while remaining fun and pleasing.  The last song that I liked a lot was Bourgeois, a song that takes about a gullible middle class in a soft, up-beat tone.

All in all, I think that this isn't Phoenix's best album, but it's not their worst.  This kind of album is what I like to call a "closer album". After a band has had a lot of commercial success, they usually drop 1 or 2 albums that aren't quite as successful, and sometimes, just flat out bad.  Sometimes, afterwards they do an album tour in the hopes to boost its album sales, throw a greatest hits album and retire. I'm not saying it always happens, but it is quite common in the music industry.  I'm not saying they should just up and retire, I'm just accepting the probability before it breaks my heart, like it has before... (Fall out boy, My chemical Romance...)