San Francisco Blog

Play the song "Lisztomania" for friends and you'll undoubtedly get asked who's behind this extraordinarily peppy bit of electronic pop. The tune is French act Phoenix's tribute to Franz Liszt, the famous Hungarian composer and pianist, and it's part of their classically-themed (in name only) new album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. For a band namedropping such pretentious historical figures, the record is a lot of fun, with none of the seriousness its brand associating here would imply. The buzzing synths drive these songs from the music parlor to the dance floor, and nearly every one catches with immediate impact. You're gonna be hearing a lot more about ol' Wolfie this summer, so I'd recommend starting with that little bit of "Lisztomania".  (Phoenix also headline the SF Spectrum Festival on June 27--the event starts June 26 and runs for two nights).