Hailing from Glasgow and featuring an eclectic mix of musicians garnered from numerous Glaswegian bands of the past - hence the name The Phantom Band - and now signed to prominent Glasgow label Chemikal Underground, you would expect there to be something quintessentially Scottish about The Phantom Band. Whilst there have been comparisons to The Beta Band, in reality there is little to tie them down as Scottish; instead they make a raucous rabble of mish-mashed genres all fighting for a place at this rather fun-filled buffet table of music.

The Phantom Band drive home many differing rock sensibilities throughout their debut long-player; take the funky groove of 'Crocodile' all bass until it is layered with folk reed work to become a more blissful tune - gradually exploding into a sky-scraping wail-out for all of about 8 minutes, yet never getting tiring. Sit this next to the rock warp that is 'Folk Song Oblivion' with Rick Anthony intoning over and over "I can't see for the mountain's silhouette" whatever that may mean - reminding me very much of British Sea Power if they twanged in Scottish of course.

Opener 'The Howling' is all bass/synth throbs pulsing for over 6 minutes interspersed with light 60's jangling guitars creating a bizarre mix of serious driving prog and delicious laid back power-pop (are you beginning to get the picture that this album is something quite different yet?). Again, take this in comparison with the 9 minute epic that is 'Island' which really takes down the pace of the album a notch or several by just being a plaintiff, almost ballad like track, that shows a more gentle touch to The Phantom Band.

'Throwing Bones' grins like some kind of Texan cowboy in the mid-west, all chewing tobacco and spittle with its intricate slide and steel guitar funk creating the sort of groove you'd expect from a Mariachi band on LSD. And why not temper this with the almost Stooges raw riffing of 'Halfhound' all culminating in finale 'The Whole Is On My Side' where again the tempo shifts back down whilst still maintaining the groove qualities of the previous tracks, shifting mid-song into a more recognised guitar driven sound before opting to end on a chiming outro.

The Phantom Band have made a challenging album in 'Checkmate Savage' defying conventional expectations of albums by attempting to throw as many styles into 9 tracks as they can muster. Hats off to them, they manage to pull it off without compromising on drifting into that dreaded territory of "commercialism".

Track-listing:
1. The Howling
2. Burial Sounds
3. Folk Song Oblivion
4. Crocodile
5. Halfhound
6. Left Hand Wave
7. Island
8. Throwing Bones
9. The Whole Is On My Side

Produced by: Paul Savage

Website: The Phantom Band Website
Label: Chemikal Underground Records Website
Buy Now: "Checkmate Savage" by The Phantom Band

http://www.myspace.com/thephantombandpage