Song of the Week: Phoenix and Ezra Koenig Hearken Back to the Golden Age of Indie-Pop with “Tonight”
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The post Song of the Week: Phoenix and Ezra Koenig Hearken Back to the Golden Age of Indie-Pop with “Tonight” appeared first on Consequence.
Song of the Week breaks down and talks about the song we just can’t get out of our head each week. Find these songs and more on our Spotify Top Songs playlist. For our favorite new songs from emerging artists, check out our Spotify New Sounds playlist. This week, Phoenix and Ezra Koenig unleash a delightful collab.
Phoenix hearken back to the golden age of indie pop — an era they helped define in 2009 with their groundbreaking fourth album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix — on their new song, “Tonight,” the second single from their upcoming album Alpha Zulu (out November 4th). “Tonight” not only features fellow indie icon Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, but some signature Phoenix moves; the rousing hi-hat and tom drum line from “Lasso” returns, the escalating synths of “1901” come back for an instant dopamine boost, and the song’s unshakeable confidence recalls the scrappy origins of their 2000 debut, United.
But beyond the nostalgia play, Phoenix sound like a different band than they were in 2009 — their impulses are refined, their musical phrases more unpredictable. Vocalist Thomas Mars and Ezra Koenig arrive at the final line of the chorus, “Now I talk to myself and it’s quite surprising,” in what feels like a bar too soon, until a brief instrumental pause gives way to a euphoric rendition of the song’s opening bass and guitar line. “Tonight” is also a great example of Phoenix never losing sight of the fact that they are A Guitar Band, and when the verses halt and allow Laurent Brancowitz and Christian Mazzalai’s crystal-clear strumming to take the lead, it re-centers the track on a more organic, authentic sound, before exploding in an anthemic fashion.
Mars and Koenig’s lyrics oscillate between reflecting on mistakes of the past and earnestly pushing their regrets aside for the sake of having company — rather than solely leaning into the Obama-era ideas of “we only have tonight, so let’s party,” there’s a clear acknowledgment of how much has changed, how much they’ve grown up — how they’ve “played all the games/ And lost almost everything.”
This is what makes “Tonight” so infectious and one of Phoenix’s best entries since 2013’s Bankrupt!. The world is very different than it once was when Mars and Koenig were ascending to indie fame in the late 2000s — the future is more bleak and unstable, and the very position of their bands in the landscape of popular music represent a more optimistic era instead of music that speaks truth to the collective. Phoenix knows they can’t replicate the rush of a song like “1901,” so “Tonight” feels like their attempt to capture that lightning without forgetting the way they’ve changed over the last 15 years.
Back in 2013, Mars defiantly claimed on “Entertainment” that he’d “rather be alone,” but now, he arrives with a request more simple and earnest: “Could you come tonight?” With a song as undeniable as “Tonight,” it’s a great idea to say yes.
— Paolo Ragusa
Editorial Coordinator
Honorable Mentions
Dry Cleaning – “Gary Ashby”
Dry Cleaning have always been singular, carving out a lane of their own within the pantheon of modern post-punk. With each new release, this sentiment only rings truer. As the band gears up for the release of their anticipated sophomore album, Stumpwork, not only have they distinguished themselves from their contemporaries, but they’re doing it with such ease that it’s borderline frustrating. Hell, according to the album’s press release, frontwoman Florence Shaw improvised many of her lyrics during the recording process — and the results are this good?!
Like “Don’t Press Me” before it, “Gary Ashby” boils Dry Cleaning down to their essentials: Crunchy guitar lines, rock-solid rhythms, and Shaw’s signature absurdist observations are all distilled into two minutes and change. It’s the sound of an act now fully confident in their abilities and letting it rip as a result. — Jonah Krueger
NNAMDÏ – “Dedication”
“Dedication,” the latest single from the upcoming Please Have A Seat, is a beautifully NNAMDÏ through and through. Harsh electronics introduce the tune before NNAMDÏ’s sweet vocals cut through to offer relief. These two aspects then swirl around each other, combining blasting bass thumps and squealing synths with an unbeatable chord progression and lead melody. The final product is one of NNAMDÏ‘s most interesting, rewarding, and (somehow) catchy songs yet, and it’s sure to engage fans’ saliva glands as the release of Please Have A Seat approaches. — J.K.
MAX – “IT’S YOU” feat. keshi
Tired: song of the summer. Wired: ode for autumn.
Fall needs to hurry up and arrive, because MAX and keshi just dropped a cozy, acoustic dream of a duet that feels designed for an afternoon enjoying a cool breeze and a hot cup of coffee. MAX and keshi teaming up is such a natural partnership that it’s a bit surprising this is their first time collaborating on a song together — each artist’s voice complements the other with an organic ease over the minimalist, acoustic track. Give us soft, muted horns, boys! We get it — you’re both married and madly in love with your respective partners. Thanks for sharing just a bit of that love with all of us. — Mary Siroky
The California Honeydrops – “Nothing At All”
The California Honeydrops is a perfect name for this group; it evokes a sense of nostalgia, dappled in sweetness and coastal sunshine. The same can be said of the music from the Oakland band, especially their latest “Nothing At All.” Much like their previously released “I Miss You Baby, Pt. 1,” the song is a time portal, instantly dropping the listener in a romanticized slice of the past, where bands gave themselves minutes and minutes in the middle of songs to just play. Jazzy, sultry, smooth tracks are infused with a touch of Bay Area R&B, from the horns to the vocals and razor-sharp percussion. Everyone in this band knows exactly what they’re doing, and they do it well, which means that the result is always an absolute blast. — M.S.
Djo – “Half Life”
Djo, the musical project of actor Joe Keery, is not afraid of dipping his toes in the abyss, as his shapeshifting latest single reveals. “Half Life” marks a new direction for an artist who has always been experimenting with his sound; with dissonant, pulsating verses consisting of an eerie synth patch, moody vocals, and digital chimes, he conjures a dark force to the table, only for the whole thing to implode on itself. It’s an electronic pop homage to the trending ’80s aesthetic, but with a deconstructionist twist. — André Heizer
Top Songs Playlist:
Song of the Week: Phoenix and Ezra Koenig Hearken Back to the Golden Age of Indie-Pop with “Tonight”
Paolo Ragusa and Consequence Staff
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