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Jun 9, 2017It’s hard to overstate how exceptional Ti Amo is: every song is complete in its own way, and while there’s perhaps the slightest softening of focus near the end, it never starts to coast on its sultry aesthetic.
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Jun 15, 2017Written during tumultuous times, Ti Amo is the soundtrack to a future as hopefully bright as the record itself.
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Jun 14, 2017A perfect pop soundtrack for the summer search for perfect love.
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Jun 9, 2017Ti Amo isn’t a perfect record; things sag slightly when the tempos drop, and the tracklist doesn’t quite have a year-defining hit in the caliber of “Lisztomania” or “1901”. However, while it may not be an instant classic, it also feels like required listening for a summer that seems destined to be sun-drenched and scary at the same time.
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Jun 14, 2017They cast a loving spell over the listener with their optimistic, almost carefree attitude, providing a cosmic, upbeat antidote to chaotic times.
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Jun 8, 2017All ten of the album's songs overflow with sparkling synths, sighing pop hooks and made-for-summer beats. The lyrics are often difficult to parse, particularly since Mars frequently dips in and out of Italian and French, but the overall impression is one of sweet, big-hearted sincerity.
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Jun 7, 2017Ti Amo feels like the kind of escapism Phoenix and their compatriots could use right about now. And the fact that it’s the most summery music they’ve ever made is like a big, red cherry on top.
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Q MagazineJun 6, 2017As the sound of a band revelling in what they do best, it makes for an album that's up there with their most purely enjoyable. [Aug 2017, p.105]
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Jun 8, 2017The album works best when you bear in mind the turbulent times that inspired it. Ti Amo has a romantic heart, and Phoenix use it to find the bright spots in a tragic world, without losing sight of the tragedy itself.
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Jun 19, 2017It would be apt as the soundtrack of a credit scene in The Inbetweeners, or to accompany an advert taking place on a summery day full of good times and beer. That is the image evoked by the album, which blends effectively into a complete piece instead of a compilation of singles.
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Jun 9, 2017Ti Amo's first half is one of the band's most consistent stretches of songs since Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, but the wispiness of its second half delivers mixed results.
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Jun 8, 2017For all their complexities, Phoenix have typically sounded effortless. And from a stage or streaming playlist, these songs will gel with the music of their last two albums. But the work that went into them, apparently on a 9-to-5 schedule, is palpable.
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Jun 8, 2017Even when you can't tell what Mars is singing about (which is a lot), the music radiates a suave majesty that feels universal.
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Jun 7, 2017There's an interchangeability to most of the tracks that is a weakness in some ways and a strength in others. The record might end up sounding similar, but that's kind of the point.
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Jun 13, 2017Ultimately, Ti Amo is a quality Phoenix record with catchy songs, an uplifting mood, and a breezy running time that will invite easy repeats sitting on a beach or imagining you were. It sits nicely within the band’s discography and will no doubt be remixed with ease and contribute to summer playlists.
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Jun 12, 2017While Ti Amo is slow to reveal its charms, there are moments when the cheesy concept--a romanticised version of Italy--is made to seem like a brilliant idea.
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Jun 8, 2017When things click, as on the album’s standout track Tuttifrutti, and the melancholic tang of the band’s best songwriting peeks out behind the silly stuff, it works gloriously. But occasionally, as on the gelato-worshipping Fior Di Latte or the sub-Moroder Fleur De Lys, the mix seesaws into preposterousness.
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MojoJun 6, 2017With everyone now doing '80s-dance-pop, these Parisians seem more veteran than hipster on this set of Italo-disco and sophisticated pop. [Jul 2017, p.96]
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UncutJun 6, 2017A light summer picnic, not a full meal. [Jul 2017, p.36]
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Jun 13, 2017Unlike past efforts, however, Ti Amo is jarring for how glossy and smooth everything sounds.
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Jun 9, 2017It’s gorgeously produced and does a bang-up job of updating the sounds that it’s clearly so enamored of. It’s just not the kind of album—unlike Wolfgang Amadeus or 2006’s It’s Never Been Like That—that feels particularly urgent. Maybe it’s a pleasant diversion for band and audience, which is fine—it’s just never much more than that.
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Jun 6, 2017The first two singles released of the album, ‘J-Boy’ and ‘Ti Amo’, are enjoyable enough, setting the scene with shimmery ripples as you’re engulfed by the clubby rhythm, disco-balls swirling through every riff. But they also reveal the main flaws in the album: both build promisingly into grand reveals only to stall and go nowhere, like revving a car in neutral.
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Jun 16, 2017The band took all the wrong lessons from the success of their last album, and doubled down on the syrup. Turns out too much sugar really can make you sick.
User score distribution:
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Positive: 62 out of 74
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Mixed: 11 out of 74
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Negative: 1 out of 74
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Jul 11, 2017
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Jun 10, 2017This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view.