French indie rockers Phoenix have done it again.

With Bankrupt!, the band has crafted yet another indie-pop record, tight and adventurous enough to live up to its predecessors.

Senior Andrew Durlofsky said, “I love Phoenix’s older stuff like a‘Lisztomnia‘ and ‘1901‘, I’m excited for Bankrupt!”

This album is different, the arrangements are brighter and louder, everything hits a little bit harder.

The synths, where they were smooth undercurrents are now biting Moog- heavy mid-range walls of sound. The guitars are still the tight, plucky sonic touches perfected on Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix. The drums are more expansive and small tokens of machined percussion rattle off in the distance, reverberating into the upper reaches of the mix, giving the album a tighter and more intricate feeling.

Junior Jordan Kiss said of Bankrupt!, “It’s definitely a louder album, everything is more in your face this time around.”

“Entertainment,” the lead single from the album, has a vaguely oriental synth intro, followed by a trademark Phoenix guitar and drum verse. The arrangement is at times formulaic, but it’s the deft sonic differentiations this time around that make Bankrupt! sound like a group of musicians who have mastered their toolbox.

Some might argue that the toolbox has become a restriction, and that Phoenix have stagnated. Those people would be jaded, as the French band has released arguably the quintessential indie rock record with Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, and followed it with an equally impressive LP.

Junior Ryan Pau said, “I dont really listen to anything but electronic music but I really like Phoenix’s sound, they’re fresh and different.”

Songs like “The Real Thing,” “S.O.S in Bel Air,” and “Don’t” show off these sexed-up synth arrangements that have come to define Bankrupt! from its predecessors.

The production really shines on this album, an aesthetic variation on the theme rather than a complete venture into new sounds.

Bankrupt! is available for streaming and purchase.