Mo' Money, Mo' Problems

There are a lot of things to like about Phoenix's The Format. From the early breakout success of their first single (aptly titled "The First Single") and album (Interventions and Lullabies), rampant handclaps, contributions of Jellyfish founder Roger Manning Jr, and Queen-esque powerballadry, this band has loads of goodness. After being dropped by their big label (Atlantic Records) for "not producing anything that sounded like a single"), the two young lads penned a summery record of revenge which gained rave reviews all over the country (Spin ****, All Music Guide****, LA Times ***). Dog Problems is packed with ooh-la-la sing alongs, insane amounts of harmony and melodies that should be illegal (and probably are somewhere). Here's to major records' loss and our gain.

Listen:
Dog Problems
Time Bomb
Dead End
[from Dog Problems|buy]