Amy's Fresh Meet: Phantogram
Phantogram's single Mouthful of Diamonds had me three seconds in - all it took was the strange synth flare being released into the soundscape. The opening track of the New York based girl/boy duos debut album sets the tone for what is a mood record. However, while the tone may be set, the genre for the rest of the record certainly isn't. Trip hop, hip hop, indie rock, dance, pop... there's a bit of everything in the album Eyelid Movies. But each track is wrapped up in beautiful electronic warmth that ties the album together as a coherent collection of songs instead of feeling cobbled together.
A duo using a combination of a few samples, one guitar, one keyboard and two vocals runs the risk of sounding like a work in progress and never the finished product. Though Phantogram have created a record with real depth and polish without losing the intimacy along the way.
Guitarist Joshua Carter and keyboardist Sarah Barthel refer to themselves as 'Street Beat Psych Pop'. And it kinda makes sense. There are moments of Pinback and TV on The Radio during You Are The Ocean..., Portishead are heavily indebted to the likes of When I'm Small and Running From The Cops adds a little strangeness of Tricky. As Far As I Can See would even feel at home on a Jay Z record.
But despite its rather diverse take song by song, the album strangely works. It's not without a bit of filler, but moving from delicate to angry, breakbeats to subtle heartbeat thuds or manipulated samples to a bare piano, this record makes for a compelling listen. Seek it out!
PS - If you do like the record, Phantogram are hoping to drop by Belfast on their UK tour this summer.
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DOWNLOAD A FREE TRACK FROM PHANTOGRAM:Mouthful Of Diamonds
To download the track above, right click on the link and choose 'Save Target As'
(if you're using a Mac it's Ctrl+click)
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