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Village Chic Meets Urban Beats

Consider East coast duo Phantogram a bit geographically torn. On one hand you have shoe kicker beats that would make DJ Shadow a bit envious. The other balances out with nature-approved aura. But before you run for the hills in fear of another failed Bloody Valentine stab, you should write this down. Phantogram has somehow defibrillated the psyche core of shoegaze; jump-starting a tired artsy heart droning on a rainy windowsill with eclectic and alive thumpers. Subsequently on their first LP, Eyelid Movies, it’s everything pop-street beat should be.

Each electronic twitch and soul blend are an absolute team effort. Sarah Barthel’s breathy bellows would be naked if it weren’t for Josh Carter’s dreamy spacey urban loops creating these beautiful nightmares. Violent and bizarre at times but gorgeous as a landscape, the album is electric at times. ‘Mouthful of Diamonds’ and ‘When I’m Small’ are hence hypnotically chic.  You’d swear it was Serge Gainsbourg shaking hands with RJD2; bursting of fuzzed out keys and hip-hop dripping from its every pore. And when Carter lets his chords fly high under the winds of Explosions In The Sky – closing ‘All Dried Up’, you begin to realize the vast influences swirling in their minds as they lay down each effort on the album.

They steer close to chaos at times with so much amalgamation like the so-crafty-it-cringes ‘As Far As I Can See’ or when the pair decide to over produce and under deliver like later ‘Bloody Palms’. But with the flashy sound reading more like an atypically large vinyl collection, it’s forgivable as their talent is probably sprinting just to keep up. For an inaugural effort, they come pretty damn lose to crossing the finish line without breaking a sweat.

Sean Kendall