Phoenix are the Jari Kurri of effortlessly huge New Wave-y anthems--because they play on the same line as a bunch of bands who do the same things they do (the Strokes are their Gretzky, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs are their Messier), they're destined to go chronically underrated even if they change teams.
"1901," the band's first song since 2006, mixes fuzzy guitars and synths with sparse drumming and the smooth as silk vocals of frontman Thomas Mars. Stylistically, "1901" shares a lot in common with the sublime heights of the band's last album, It's Never Been Like That, which is a very, very good thing.
"1901" is on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, which is due out on May 25.
This is definitely a contender for track of the year.