"Folksong Oblivion" by The Phantom Band
 Much like Future of the Left's "Suddenly a Folk Song," The Phantom Band's "Folksong Oblivion" isn't as much of a folk song, as a song with folksy elements interpreted by a band intent on not writing a folk song. The opening, with its loose guitar chords, alternating with a meatier, more menacing riff, recalls the old work of Ian McCulloch and Echo and the Bunnymen. Yet, just as folk oblivion seems imminent, The Phantom Band pull the old switcheroo on you, and insert a chorus which is more Sebadoh than Joy Division, Echo and the Bunnymen, and practically any other band you might have expected. It's oblivion, to be sure, but by steering clear of overused mopey new-wave touchstones, it's a refreshing kind of oblivion. MP3: The Phantom Band - Folksong Oblivion The Phantom Band's debut album, Checkmate Savage, will be out January 29th on Chemikal Underground. The Phantom Band Chemikal Underground Labels: pop, ROCK, the phantom band, tunes |
Comments on ""Folksong Oblivion" by The Phantom Band"
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Ross Davidson said ... (Monday, December 29, 2008 7:58:00 AM EST) :
post a commentI was passed a promo of the Checkmate Savage album by someone at work and now this is the blurb I feel is my human duty to bounce around the blog pages like a crazy man...
It is the best album I've heard in absolutely ages, as I toe-tapped my way through its synthy-krautrock-with-a-twist-of-something-sweet anthems (with a little sniff of 70s rock), stopping only to be moved to tears by the stunningly beautiful folk hymn 'Island'. This is a band who seem to have so much to offer and, if any criticism is due, then it can only be that perhaps they are holding back a little on this record (?) for the sake of making a concise and accessible album. Don't take this too negatively- on the contrary, I love the record how it is- my feeling that this might only be the tip of the iceberg in terms of what might have ended up on this lp only fills me with confidence that Checkmate Savage will serve as a neat stepping stone to greater magic with the next one as this promising band find their feet and settle into the public domain. In other words, I have a feeling that this is a band we'll be hearing alot more of.
"rocks and blood, blood turned an oily black beneath the hard northern starlight" were the words used in a great review I just read of Checkmate Savage. Although all the songs are fun and up-beat, varying a great deal in style (eclectic genre-hopping) there is a subtle darkness that pervades. Being from Scotland originally I get a strong sense of an ancient and mysterious beat thudding it's way through the cold earth and onto the lp, or the faint shreek of a banshee echoing from the misty gloaming and through the epic tracks. The faint reverberation of countless untimely deaths, the distant murmur of a free church gathering, a creek and a scratch from the dark foundations of Roslyn chapel and a stain on Aleister Crowley's pyjama bottoms... spooky phantoms, who the heck are you?!
Ross