Everyone Here Knows Better

Phoenix “Entertainment”

I used to think of Phoenix as an underdog band, and now they’re the sort of group that can headline major American festivals. This is great, but it’s also sort of risky – their biggest hits came out nearly four years ago, and there’s some chance that people are now overestimating their appeal in 2013. That’s sort of cynical, but it’s a valid concern, so Phoenix really need to come back strong to make this all work. I’m not totally sure if “Entertainment” is the best way to do this – it’s catchy and has a similar “I am living out an awesome scene from a stylish movie” vibe as “1901,” but it has a strange, vaguely uneasy momentum to it. This works on conceptual for the song, which seems to be about Thomas Mars being a passive witness to people getting excited about him, but I can’t help but listen and wish that it would hit with a greater force, and rock without hesitation or ironic distance.

Buy it from Amazon.