Alphabetical (album) explained

Alphabetical
Type:studio
Artist:Phoenix
Cover:PhoenixAlphabeticalalbumcover.jpg
Alt:A black and white collage of images with musical instruments and band members of Phoenix.
Released:29 March 2004
Recorded:2003–2004
Length:37:37
Label:Source
Prev Title:United
Prev Year:2000
Next Title:Live! Thirty Days Ago
Next Year:2004

Alphabetical is the second studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix, released in 2004. The album has two singles, "Everything Is Everything" and "Run Run Run".

Commercial performance

The album has sold 30,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.[1] Overall it has shipped 170,000 copies worldwide [2] with 65,000 shipped units in continental Europe and Japan, 20,000 of those were in France.[3]

Critical response

Alphabetical was met with largely positive reviews. DIY Magazine called the record "a beautiful and melodious, yet still not quite on a par with some of their debut album."[4] Drowned in Sound described Alphabetical as "a deceptively simply album; a lot of work has gone into making tunes as beautifully organic as this sound so impressively pieced together." They gave the album 8/10, concluding it to be "so utterly, utterly Parisian. Not French, mind, Parisian. But what else did you expect? The most sophisticated, deliciously out of step pop album of 2004 simply had to come from the most urbane, beautiful city in the world."[5] Pitchfork praised the lead single "Everything Is Everything" as "a glorious example of how to write a classically ambiguous soft-pop song." They gave the album a score of 6.7 describing the entire record as something that "doesn't ask you to remember it in the morning."[6]

Personnel

Additional musicians

Charts

Chart (2004)!scope="col"
Peak
position
Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders)19
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[7] 265

Release history

align=center
CountryDateLabelFormatCatalog
Japan24 March 2005Toshiba-EMICDVJCP 68627
29 March 2004SourceLPSOURLP095
CDCDSOUR095
France30 March 2004
Australia12 April 2004Virgin5986350
United States27 July 20047243 5 98635 0 4

Notes and References

  1. Phoenix Rises With New Album, Label. Billboard. 2010-02-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20100403050431/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/269327/phoenix-rises-with-new-album-label. 3 April 2010 . live.
  2. Web site: Phoenix Flying. Billboard. Aymeric. Pichevin. 62. 17 June 2006. 28 March 2019.
  3. Web site: French Phoenix Rises. Billboard. James. Martin. 24 April 2004. 17 December 2018.
  4. News: Phoenix - Alphabetical . DIY Mag . DIY Mag . 2024-07-20 . 2024-08-16 .
  5. News: Phoenix Alphabetical . Drowned in Sound . Drowned in Sound . 2004-05-14 . 2024-08-16 .
  6. News: Phoenix Alphabetical . Pitchfork . Pitchfork . 2004-05-17 . 2024-08-16 .
  7. Web site: http://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/artist/139446/products/music/535865/1/. ja:アルファベティカル. Japanese. Oricon. 29 April 2014.