Making feel-good music in 2017 is a tricky proposition, even if you are a French rock band with a deep appreciation for '70s disco and '80s pop. Phoenix frontman Thomas Mars attempted to justify the blissed-out sonic aesthetic of their latest album Ti Amo (2017) - which evokes “summer and Italian discos" - by claiming that the aesthetic was a defiant reaction to the troubling political climate, as opposed to an attempt to ignore it: “At some point when we were in the studio, there was a slight sense of guilt. But we were comforted by the idea that the four of us working wasn’t escapism or denial. When that became clear, the guilt disappeared" (NYTimes).
“Goodbye Soleil” is the third track from the album, following in the trail of “J-Boy” and the title track. The bilingual retro-leaning Italo-disco tracks has Mars languidly singing about a dreamy summer milieu, with mentions of a motel outside of the Pantheon, champagne and Châteldon. The layered guitar riffs and swirling synthesizers create an amiable midtempop momentum that suggest unhurried bliss. The chorus, which is sung in French, however, is only too aware that the summer must eventually end:
'De quelle façon, pour quelle raison (In what way, for what reason)Dis-moi pourquoi comment je t'aime (Tell me why I love you)Rien qu'une seconde, si seuls au monde (Nothing but a second, if alone in the world)Tu te réveilles, goodbye soleil (You wake up, goodbye sun)'
Lyrics: Genius
The accompanying music video features a lo-fi montage of scenes from a conventional European summer: the band member's swim in a pool and walk along a beach, observe the items for sale at beachside gift shops while the sun shines, flags blow in the breeze, and commuters on the train stand around in shorts and tank tops. There's a violet-hued sunset at the very end, after the last line of the chorus undergoes a slight, pessimistic change: 'J'ai pas sommeil, goodbye soleil (I have no sleep, goodbye sun)'.
