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Various Artists - Kitsuné Tabloid by Phoenix
| Treblezine |
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There's nothing like the magical alchemy of a well put together mixtape. The novelty of the mix has taken hold of music once again. Late Night Tales, The Trip, DJ Kicks and various other mixes have been commissioned and released with respected artists at the reigns, picking and choosing their personal favorites. Other than maybe Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey's Trip compilation, I haven't been as impressed by a series of songs as much as I have been with Phoenix's Kitsuné Tabloid. The French label, known mostly for electronic compilations, recruited Thomas Mars and Laurent Brancowitz, two pop masterminds from Phoenix, to put together some records from their past and present that is truly representative of life-changing music. And, as one would expect from true music lovers, the mix spreads across a broad spectrum of era, style and genre, and is essential listening for any music connoisseur worth their salt. The majority of the tracks on Tabloid, released just a few weeks prior to the heralded new album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, are from the '60s and '70s, showing that these thirty-somethings were both paying attention in their youths, and have a sense of history. In other words, they're not "Too Young." Anyone looking to glean influences on the band's sound might be stretching a bit, as no one artist or song represented here can be said to be a direct influence on Phoenix. In fact, as most reviews will have you believe, Phoenix has a very '80s inspired sound, but Mars and Brancowitz have only two songs from that decade represented, neither one of them exhibiting the `Phoenix' DNA, in Elvis Costello's sober and lyrically brilliant "Shipbuilding" and Tangerine Dream's Risky Business soundtrack feature, "Love on a Real Train." What you do get with Tabloid is an incredible guest DJ session from a couple of guys who really know great music....full text |
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| Pitchfork |
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Phoenix's entire output makes me feel like I'm touring Europe's sexiest cities and smoking fancy cigarettes while in the throes of an "arty" tomboy model. Their choices for the second volume of the Kitsuné Tabloid series-- following Digitalism's 2008 mix-- one might assume would play on this aesthetic, out-cooling listeners with obscurant or ultra-hip selections. Instead, Phoenix turn in a modest and loving mixtape full of songs aimed at pricking ears rather than popping eyeballs. Kitsuné Tabloid openly displays Phoenix's love for all manners of charming, offbeat music: There's precious little crate-digging, in part because even if the average Phoenix fan doesn't know a lick about Tangerine Dream or the Red Krayola, it's likely that your average Kitsuné consumer does. If Tabloid has a discernible theme, it's probably Phoenix's reverence for early rock'n'soul, as the mix touches on not just the Impressions but Ritchie Valens, Irma Thomas, Dusty Springfield, and like-minded imitators Elvis Costello, Chris Bell (Big Star), and Dennis Wilson. Major stylistic diversions include R&B, Brazilian pop, and indie rock, but there's plenty of wiggle room to be had in that first list, and Tabloid never feels monotonous or truly predictable....full text |
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| Insound |
| The Kitsune label has given free reigns to the members of Paris' wildly-popular pop/rock band Phoenix for an unlikely yet amazing compilation of rare tracks that have changed their lives. The members of Phoenix, one of the most important French bands worldwide since the success of their album It's Never Been Like That, have gathered a selection of tracks they've lived with and that have stood the test of time. To quote them: "...these are little treasures that have had a huge impact and amazed us." Rare and care-fully picked tracks that make this record the most sentimental and melodic record ever released on Kitsune, a label known until now for its electro-orientated Kitsune Maison compilations and arists such as Digitalism, Cazals, autoKratz, Hot Chip, Klaxons, and many more. Containing a wide collection of current artists and beloved progenitors of the past, this compilation is a must have for Phoenix fans, Sofia Coppola devotees, and for all those in need of a cross-genre musical soundtrack to the movie that is their life. Artists include: Kiss, Dirty Projectors, The Red Crayola, The Impressions, Chris Bell, Roxy Music, The 13th Floor Elevators, Elvis Costello and The Attractions, D'Angelo, Tangerine Dream, Urge Overkill, Lo Borges, Iggy Pop and James Williamson, Dennis Wilson, Irma Thomas, Richie Valens, Dusty Springfield and Lou Reed....full text |
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Go to "Various Artists " lyrics