Phoenix plays The Anthem on Monday (Photo by Shervin Lainez).

By DCist Contributor Christina Smart

Phoenix‘s music has always had an effervescent feel; as if a glass of Veuve Cliquot somehow morphed into musical form. Perhaps its their French background that’s responsible for this. Maybe it’s a certain je ne sais quoi.

But in the four years since their last album, Bankrupt!, as extreme politics both here and in Europe polarized the population, one would wonder if these outside influences would affect Phoenix’s music and change their typically sunny musical disposition.

The resulting album Ti Amo, released in June, turned out to be their most jubilant yet, taking the audience on an R&B synth-pop heavy excursion reminding the listener of that Italian summer vacation they never actually took (but have been meaning to for years).

The band’s tour in support of Ti Amo comes to D.C.’s big new venue, The Anthem, on Monday.

When singer Thomas Mars exhales at the beginning of “J-Boy,” the opening track from Ti Amo, it prepares the listener for what will be 37 minutes of pure musical escapism. According to Mars, however, that wasn’t the band’s motive.

“The intention was not denial or escapism,” Mars said during an interview with DCist. “It was more to express to show how music is a world of possibilities. For me, it’s not because times are dark that everything has to be gloomy.”

With that in mind, Mars and company took their love of synthesizers and drum machines from the 70’s and 80’s, utilizing them to give the listener a throwback vibe reminiscent of vintage tracks like T’Pau’s “Heart and Soul,” The System’s “Don’t Disturb This Groove” and Nu Shooz’s “I Can’t Wait.” According to Mars, it was the love of the instruments from that time that set the tone for the record.

“I think maybe we share a lot of the instruments with that era on these songs,” Mars said. “Now when we go in the studio, one of the few decisions we make is which instruments to surround ourselves with. Over time we’ve accumulated a lot of drum machines and synths from that era that we love.”

Something else that Phoenix borrows from that era is some of Prince’s production techniques. This is evident on Bankrupt!’s “The Real Thing,” which has the band tuning down their LinnDrum machine like Prince did on “When Doves Cry” and phasing the percussion on “J-Boy.”

For Mars, discovering Prince was a pivotal moment in his life.

“To me, he’s the guy that changed everything when I was a teenager,” said Mars. “I was a kid watching Purple Rain and, hearing his music, I felt like I lost my virginity for the first time. It was that good.”

Another major influence on this album is Italy and the feeling of la dolce vita. This is a completely natural influence as Phoenix band members (and brothers) Laurent Brancowitz and Christian Mazzalai are half-Italian, and Mars is married to Italian-American director Sofia Coppola.

“For French people, it’s like a distant cousin,” Mars explained. “It’s familiar, but it’s far enough so that it’s a fantasy. When we used Italian, and the Italian language or the references, it was purely a tool to create a fantasy, to create an alternate universe.”

On Phoenix’s current tour, part of creating that alternate universe live requires a massive mirror that hangs over the band at a 45-degree angle, allowing the audience to see the reflection of the band as well as their lighted dance floor stage. According to Mars, this mirror trick has been utilized in France for almost a century.

“The idea comes from the end of the 20’s, early 30’s French Can-Can show where they would use that mirror to show the dresses of the girls that were dancing,” he explained.

While no dresses will be showcased during their show, this set-up gives Phoenix fans a great view regardless of where they’re sitting.

“What I love about it is in some of the venues we’ve played the nosebleeds are the best seats because you see the mirror and every angle,” explained Mars. “You see a different show if you are in the balcony or if you are in the pit, it’s even more different.”

Phoenix will be playing The Anthem on October 16 at 8 p.m. with The Lemon Twigs opening. Tickets are $45-55.