Listen to Everything Is Everything — its opening lines immediately set the tone for what’s by far the most surprising Phoenix song you’ve ever heard if you’ve only heard their recent work (anything from and since It’s Never Been Like That):

Things are gonna change,
And not for better.
Don’t know what it means to me,
But it’s hopeless, hopeless.

The song is really well-written from a musical standpoint, and utterly refreshing to hear Phoenix doing something like this after getting used to their electronic pop. (Even long-time listeners will appreciate this trip down memory lane.) The whole album just flies by.

Run Run Run is great, and reminds me of some off-the-wall post–2000s alternative rock we used to always hear. I’m An Actor is seriously influenced, believe it or not, by Green Day (and you’ll know exactly what I mean when you hear it).

(You Can’t Blame It On) Anybody hints at what was to come from Phoenix later, as does Holdin’ On Together. And considering it’s the titular track, Alphabetical is surprisingly slow and introspective.

When you’re done listening to the whole album, you’re going to want to listen again. My advice? Just start at the beginning and hit the Repeat All button. Save yourself the trouble in advance.

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Fritz & The Tantrums are also a lot better than the usual fluff, with catchy songs like Out of My League, Spark, Keepin’ Our Eyes Out, and more. This is one of those albums that you don’t need to listen to the tracks in order. That’s not to say that it doesn’t reveal more with deeper listening, but that Fritz & The Tantrums are multi-faceted. They know how to write a great song, and they’re willing to let it stand on its own. I suspect it’s largely because the songs would be great live.

You could also grab a few tracks and throw them on next time you throw a party, and just dance. You’ll have fun, and that’s the bottom line. Fitz & The Tantrums are a lot of fun. And sometimes, you don’t need much more than that. Surprisingly, although “deluxe editions” are usually gimmicky piles of crap, the Deluxe Edition of More Than Just a Dream has a couple remixes that are well worth listening to at the end.

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