And I'll be anything you ask and more

I came late to the Phoenix party, but I'm staying all night. My friends Greg and Alan turned me on to these French purveyors of indie pop brilliance, and I cannot get enough. For the last two months I've been listening to Phoenix's back catalog and loving the whole affair, but now comes Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, by far one of the best albums of 2009.

The whole album is great, but here are my highlights:

The two lead singles, "Lisztomania" and "1901," both shine with pop perfection, especially "1901," which I have listened to every day for weeks. As Alan said, it is obvious these boys are writing lyrics in their non-native language, but that does not matter. It just sounds so good.

"Love Like a Sunset" sounds a bit different, with a long 5:45 instrumental buildup followed by a joyous tone shift that I love listening to on the train. This song makes commuting fun.

"Lasso" = silliness. Awesome silliness. I love the pound of the bridge, as well as the melodies throughout.

But right now my favorite song on the album (along with "1901") is "Girlfriend." From the crescendoed opening to the prominent drums to the pre-chorus instrumental break to the bouncy post-chorus keyboards, I just find this song completely smile-inducing.

I'm very excited about seeing Phoenix this Saturday night. I'll report back. In the meantime, make your spring and summer better: get this album.