Alpha Zulu is the seventh studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix, released on November 4, 2022, through Loyauté and Glassnote Records. The album was recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, a museum within the Louvre Palace in Paris.
The album features ten tracks, including the singles "Identical," "Alpha Zulu," "Tonight" (featuring Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend), and "Winter Solstice." The collaboration with Koenig on "Tonight" adds a unique blend to the band's signature sound.
Critically, "Alpha Zulu" received universal acclaim. Helen Brown of The Independent noted that the album is "packed with an impressive amount of energy and ideas for a band celebrating their 25th anniversary," comparing it favorably to their 2009 breakthrough album, "Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix."
The album's cover art, directed by Pascal Teixeira, features an edited portion of Sandro Botticelli's 1478 painting "Madonna col Bambino mediante otto angeli," reflecting the band's artistic approach. The title "Alpha Zulu" was inspired by frontman Thomas Mars hearing the phrase over an airplane radio during turbulence, referencing the NATO phonetic alphabet.
Glassnote
2023
Vinyl, LP
Black
AZSTANDARDLP
N/A