You do the research on Phantogram and you see a lot of weird pseudo-anticipation expressed with the term “Trip-Hop”. This mid-90′s genre that was once a plague on every coffee shop and upscale boutique in America, has been left squandering now. I freely admit, it was something I once loved…but time makes fools of us all and in retrospect, much of what the genre pooped out wasn’t that great.
In what Phantogram has repurposed for their sound, like the occasional dust speckled hip-hop drum sample, definitely calls back to some of the finer points that trip-hop had to offer. There’s some similarity in singer/keyboardist Sarah Barthel’s reverb drenched cooing that would be in line with a lot of other female singers from that era. The sparse, Morricone inspired guitar lines are also familiar touchstones for the genre.
Hm, I really had meant to write about these guys and in the end circle back to say, “But, they’ve got a lot that separates them from being the first crest of a trip-hop revival.” The more layers I dissect in the album…the more I find a lot of genre callbacks. Weather flush with retro tendencies or not, Eyelid Movies is still an incredibly solid album that comes across like early stuff from The Ravonettes on quaaludes. Rarely do I find a new release full of songs that are worthy repeat listening.
“You Are The Ocean And I’m Good At Drowning” has been the standout track from Eyelid Movies. The song builds up the from the skeleton of a drum loop filled out with bass synth mood and a subdued guitar lead. Guitarist Josh Carter takes vocal point on this song and filled in at the chorus by Sarah Barthel; the interplay similar in tone to The XX, if they had a concept of crescendo instead of just steely posturing. “You Are The Ocean And I’m Good At Drowning” does arrive at a satisfying build, an asset utilized by many of their songs. Maybe fairer to call it “post-shoegaze” instead of “trip-hop revival”…less damning anyway.
PHANTOGRAM – YOU ARE THE OCEAN AND I’M GOOD AT DROWNING
Eyelid Movies was released on February 9th 2010 via Barsuk Records. Order it at insound.com.
