Phoenix - Sensei


Phoenix
Sensei
2019
Spotify

I sometimes run into this issue when using GooglePlay Music for my streaming service where they confuse bands with the same name. Obviously when I saw that "Phoenix" had a new album out I was clearly excited. Usually when it end up not being the band I was hoping for I am usually severely disappointed with the band that I end up getting. However this version of Phoenix brought in a bit of a surprise. The music here is experimental and dark, almost like Porter Robinson's Virtual Self, but more grounded in existentialism, rather than technological development. There are these spoken word interludes where Phoenix gets into some rather philosophical topics through a female voice. This is all built around a strong drum and bass production style that feels completely experimental and out there. More than Phoenix this album find similar sounds to Aphex Twin, Arca and other experimental acts. It's a bold statement to intro your album with an 18 minute track, but Phoenix does just that with "Holy". Big blaring synth driven horns and clanging industrial sounds make for the main thrust of the record. At other times like on "Forbidden" some lightness is added to the music and it becomes dare I say playful? The same can be said for "Knowledge" which uses chopped up vocals over this really interesting beat. There is so much going on with each and every track here that it's almost staggering to listen to. Time almost ceases to exist, because the track times are scattered across the board. One track you are 14 minutes in and still hanging in while others barely cross the minute mark.

The thing about this album is that it has a lot of music, almost an hour and a half to be exact. It takes some of the more intriguing tracks and puts them in this sort of diluted state. It is like Phoenix wanted to give you absolutely everything and forget that editing is sometimes a necessary evil. "Love" is an all out bass assault, finding the absolute most you can get out of turning some fucking knobs. The album descends into this swirling conglomeration of sounds and movements, leaving you often bewildered and pushed to the brink. Phoenix is constantly trying to overwhelm you with noise and sound, push you so far then just dangle some gentle light tunes just beyond the next corner. It's this push for more decadence, more evocative music to put you in this crazy head space. You can almost imagine the visuals live, a swirling mess of color and movement but with a touch of darkness always at it's heart. Such a weird exciting and wonderful record, that will likely go completely unnoticed. I often wish ill upon those who try to use another band's name to slide into my streaming DMs, but this was such a wonderfully happy accident I guess I am going to have to be much more open going forward. Do not sleep on this record.

8.7 out of 10

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