Album review: Phoenix return with own special blend of accessible pop and inscrutable lyrics

Ti Amo by Phoenix. Loyaute / Glassnote Records via AP

Ti Amo

Phoenix

(Loyaute/Glassnote)

Three stars

The loveable French foursome are back with their own special blend of accessible pop and inscrutable lyrics. How much you enjoy the former is an indicator of how much you can endure the latter.

On Ti Amo – Italian for I love you – Phoenix are in a bubbly mood, singing in English, Italian, French and a little Spanish, and referencing fancy food quite a lot.

Tracks such as Too Young, 1901 and Everything Is Everything are all lush, sprightly and overly complicated, the kind of non-offensive tunes you might hear from a teenager trying too hard with the party mix.

Lead singer Thomas Mars seems determined to create word soup. Head-scratching gems include: "If you got to trust the guy, he's no impersonator/What's the matter with him mowing your lawn? from the barrelling Role Model.

The peppy Via Veneto also packs this beauty: "I will follow, I will follow, I'll follow you around/And in front of a sonogram."

Our advice? Don’t ask so many questions. Just keep dancing.

* Mark Kennedy / Associated Press