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Ti Amo by Phoenix

 \9.4.18\

The French indie pop band who has been enjoying success for some time has followed a similar popularity arc as our last band. Formed by three high school friends, Thomas Mars, Deck D'Arcy, and Chris Marzzalai, in the suburbs of Paris in the 1990's, the group played together as a garage band. In 1995, Laurent Brancowitz left Darlin', who's other two members would go off to form Daft Punk, and joined the band who in two years would be named Phoenix. 1997 would be the year the band would publish copies of their first single on their own label, but later joined Source Records.


They would release their first album in 2000 titled United, quickly finding footing across the canal in England. Their next album, Alphabetical, would cement their name around the world. Three albums and one Grammy later, the group had hit many top 100 lists around the world. In 2017, a sixth studio album would be announced. Followed by three singles, Ti Amo was released on June 9th leading into a worldwide tour.

Ti Amo means I Love You in Italian. So it's no wonder Brancowitz called the themes of the album "Summer and Italian Discos." recorded in Paris in 2016, the record was born out of dark times. These themes of being scared and threats at your door are there if you listen. But overall, one is transported by the disco-synth sound to summer nights at an Italian Disco. The music is always upbeat and will get stuck in your head for weeks. Very few albums get stuck in my head like this one.


The vinyl is special too. Besides being translucent, it has a blue tinge separating it from most LP's. The A and B sides have a blue and pink label respectively to easily distinguish the sides. The sleeve is interesting too, with the same blue and pink design. The back has a clever group photo of the band photo bombing a couples photo shoot at the Trevi Fountain, in Italy.

This is available wherever records are sold, but was specifically baught at Wax Trax Records in Denver, Colorado. Remember to shop local.

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