Alphabetical (album)

Alphabetical
Studio album by Phoenix
Released	29 March 2004
Recorded	2003–2004
Genre	Indie pop soft rock
Length	37:37
Label	Source
Producer	Phoenix Tony Hoffer
Phoenix chronology
United (2000) Alphabetical (2004) Live! Thirty Days Ago (2004)
Singles from Alphabetical
"Run Run Run" Released: 19 April 2004 [1] "Everything Is Everything" Released: 21 June 2004

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100 [2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Alternative Press	4/5 [4]
Blender	[5]
DIY	[6]
Drowned in Sound	8/10 [7]
NME	8/10 [8]
Pitchfork	6.7/10 [9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Spin	B− [11]
Uncut	[12]

Alphabetical is the second studio album by French indie pop band Phoenix, released in 2004. The album has two singles, "Everything Is Everything" and "Run Run Run".

Commercial performance

The album has sold 30,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan. ^[13] Overall it has shipped 170,000 copies worldwide ^[14] with 65,000 shipped units in continental Europe and Japan, 20,000 of those were in France. ^[15]

Critical response

Alphabetical was met with largely positive reviews. DIY Magazine called the record "a beautiful and melodious, yet still not quite on a par with some of their debut album." ^[16] Drowned in Sound described Alphabetical as "a deceptively simply album; a lot of work has gone into making tunes as beautifully organic as this sound so impressively pieced together." They gave the album 8/10, concluding it to be "so utterly, utterly Parisian. Not French, mind, Parisian. But what else did you expect? The most sophisticated, deliciously out of step pop album of 2004 simply had to come from the most urbane, beautiful city in the world." ^[17] Pitchfork praised the lead single "Everything Is Everything" as "a glorious example of how to write a classically ambiguous soft-pop song." They gave the album a score of 6.7 describing the entire record as something that "doesn't ask you to remember it in the morning." ^[18]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Phoenix.

Alphabetical track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Everything Is Everything"	3:01
2.	"Run Run Run"	3:50
3.	"I'm an Actor"	2:33
4.	"Love for Granted"	4:24
5.	"Victim of the Crime"	4:02
6.	"(You Can't Blame It On) Anybody"	3:33
7.	"Congratulations"	1:12
8.	"If It's Not with You"	3:57
9.	"Holdin' on Together"	3:27
10.	"Alphabetical"	3:24
11.	"Congratulations (Revisited)" (iTunes bonus track)	1:08

Personnel

• Deck D'Arcy – bass guitar, keyboards and backing vocals
• Laurent Brancowitz – guitar, keyboards and backing vocals
• Thomas Mars – vocals and drums
• Christian Mazzalai – guitar and backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Ivan Beck – acoustic guitar (4)
• Pino Palladino – bass (5, 7, 10)
• Jm Mery – additional keyboards (7, 8, 10)
• Alex Locascio – drums and percussion (1, 3, 4, 5)

Charts

Chart performance for Alphabetical

Chart (2004)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [19]	46
Belgian Alternative Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [19]	19
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) [20]	42
French Albums (SNEP) [21]	41
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) [22]	68
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [23]	265
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) [24]	4
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [25]	11

Release history

Release history and formats for Alphabetical

Country	Date	Label	Format	Catalog
Japan	24 March 2005	Toshiba-EMI	CD	VJCP 68627
Europe United Kingdom	29 March 2004	Source	LP	SOURLP095
			CD	CDSOUR095
France	30 March 2004
Australia	12 April 2004	Virgin		5986350
United States	27 July 2004	Astralwerks Source		7243 5 98635 0 4

References

1. Martin, James (April 24, 2004). "French Phoenix Rises". Billboard. p. 52. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
2. "Reviews for Alphabetical by Phoenix". Metacritic . Retrieved 10 July 2019.
3. Kellman, Andy. "Alphabetical – Phoenix". AllMusic . Retrieved 10 July 2019.
4. "Phoenix: Alphabetical". Alternative Press (194): 136. September 2004.
5. "Phoenix: Alphabetical". Blender (29): 140. September 2004.
6. Leahy, Sarah (29 March 2004). "Phoenix – Alphabetical". DIY . Retrieved 14 February 2020.
7. Dobson, Gareth (26 July 2004). "Album Review: Phoenix – Alphabetical". Drowned in Sound . Archived from the original on 4 December 2014. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
8. "Phoenix: Alphabetical". NME : 57. 19 June 2004.
9. Leone, Dominique (17 May 2004). "Phoenix: Alphabetical". Pitchfork . Retrieved 10 July 2019.
10. Moayeri, Lily (2 August 2004). "Phoenix: Alphabetical". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on 17 March 2005. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
11. "Breakdown". Spin . 20 (8): 108. August 2004. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
12. "French Letters". Uncut (86): 110. July 2004. Archived from the original on 10 July 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
13. "Phoenix Rises With New Album, Label". Billboard. Archived from the original on 3 April 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-27.
14. Pichevin, Aymeric (17 June 2006). "Phoenix Flying". Billboard. p. 62. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
15. Martin, James (24 April 2004). "French Phoenix Rises". Billboard. Retrieved 17 December 2018.
16. "Phoenix - Alphabetical". DIY Mag. DIY Mag. 2024-07-20. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
17. "Phoenix Alphabetical". Drowned in Sound. Drowned in Sound. 2004-05-14. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
18. "Phoenix Alphabetical". Pitchfork. Pitchfork. 2004-05-17. Retrieved 2024-08-16.
19. "Ultratop.be – Phoenix – Alphabetical" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
20. "Ultratop.be – Phoenix – Alphabetical" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
21. "Lescharts.com – Phoenix – Alphabetical". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
22. "Offiziellecharts.de – Phoenix – Alphabetical" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
23. アルファベティカル (in Japanese). Oricon . Retrieved 29 April 2014.
24. "Norwegiancharts.com – Phoenix – Alphabetical". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
25. "Swedishcharts.com – Phoenix – Alphabetical". Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 April 2014.