French synth-pop institution Phoenix are back with their first new track in two years, the danceable, beat-driven “Alpha Zulu.” The Grammy-winners are “currently in the studio finishing up their first new album in five years, the follow-up to 2017’s Ti Amo,” a press release reveals, with more information coming “soon.”
During a turbulent flight through stormy skies, Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars overheard a pilot repeating the phrase “Alpha Zulu” over his radio with an urgency that would stick with the musician. The song it inspired finds a vocal sample, guitar and bass in lockstep over a nervy dance beat, with synths brightening its post-choruses. Mars’ lyrics wander through time (“I must have died at 51 in 1953”) and language (“Your Mona Lisa immortalized, décapitée”), growing especially rhythmic when he encourages seeking inner peace amid external turmoil: “Woo ha, singin’ hallelujah / Pray to your God, cover your lies / God or guru, hey, hey, hey.”
Phoenix have a number of festival sets on their 2022 touring itinerary, including a homecoming show at Paris’ We Love Green festival, Barcelona’s Primavera Sound, and a trio of U.S. fests—Atlanta’s Music Midtown, Bentonville, Arkansas’ Format Festival and Austin’s ACL—in the fall. One imagines those dates will expand significantly in support of the band’s LP6.
Listen to “Alpha Zulu” below and see Phoenix’s current tour dates further down.
Phoenix Tour Dates:
June
01 – Nimes, FR @ Paloma
03 – Saint-Brieuc, FR @ Festival Art Rock
04 – Paris, FR @ We Love Green
08 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera In The City
10 – Lyon, FR @ Nuits de Fourviere
11 – Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound
September
17-18 – Atlanta, GA @ Music Midtown
23-25 – Bentonville, AR @ Format Festival
October
14-16 – Austin, TX @ ACL
