The Phantom Band – The Howling [Single]

Chemikal Underground

April 29, 2009, 10:31 PM

Views: 385   Comments: 0

Buy The Phantom Band – The Howling [Single] From Amazon.com

The Phantom Band attracts the strangest and broadest list of band comparisons: The Beta Band meet British Sea Power anyone?? What about TV On The Radio or Violent Femmes? Or how about Nick Cave meets Neu? Even the musical reference that gets closest to capturing the Scots six-piece best – Captain Beefheart – doesn’t tell the whole story. Their debut album ‘Checkmate Savage’ released in January will surely end up in many Best of Year lists come December. Before that though, lead track ‘The Howling’ is released as a limited single in May. ‘The Howling’ is a potent blend of motorik rhythms and voodoo-swamp-blues-rock that never outstays a second of its welcome over its entrancing six and half minutes. It starts with a pulsating synth line, a metronomic drum pattern and singer Rick Antony intoning “Close my eyes, still my tongue, make me dust again”. It’s mysterious and captivating. When the guitars come in they jangle as many a Glaswegian guitar band has before but this sounds dangerous and intoxicating, not at all intent on bringing harmony.

All these different elements – hints of krautrock, acid-folk and psychedelia colliding with deadpan Scots story-telling - crash into each in a way that shouldn’t work but somehow does as their voodoo spell works its magic. To some it may be ‘long, meandering and experimental’ (how the band describes their jams); to me it’s fresh, gripping and a contender for one of the singles of the year.

Released 18 May

#1 | Subscribe | Send to Friend | Print | Discipline | Report