In his recent review of their naggingly catchy "California" single, your reviewer expressed a certain cynicism relating to PHANTOM PLANET'S friends- in -high- places, dues-paying avoidance programme, seeing as how their drummer JASON SCHWARTZMAN is related to the COPPOLA family and NICOLAS CAGE and the rest of the band are involved with various MTV-related projects.
However, this writer couldn't deny the impassioned, anthemic quality of "California" (Christ, that rinky dink piano bit's still swimming around my brain…) and I gotta say it: "The Guest" - their debut album - is pretty much the Road to Damascus conversion job I hoped it would be.
Because, preconceptions aside, PHANTOM PLANET are bloody good at the kind of delirious, harmony-drenched power pop most of you out there are still desperately trying to hide a fondness for. I mean, "The Guest" wouldn't be ridiculously outclassed if you played it in the wake of a genre definer like BIG STAR'S fabulous "Radio City" and…well, if you're looking for accolades, you've just tripped over a meteor-sized one.
"The Guest" undoubtedly benefits from the production input of MITCHELL FROOM and TCHAD BLAKE; the team who've helped shape the likes of ELVIS COSTELLO'S "Brutal Youth" and CROWDED HOUSE'S "Woodface" in the past. Indeed, "The Guest" bathes in a similar, warm analogue glow and shouldn't alienate anyone who's previously enjoyed the likes of these and the first FOUNTAINS OF WAYNE album.
"The Guest" proffers a clutch of potential singles. The likes of "Always On My Mind" and "Hey Now Girl" are both fine slabs of FM pop (not in the derogatory sense, either). The former is bolstered by electric piano and handclaps and "Hey Now Girl" is brash, bright and purposeful with abounding energy and the good sense to bring the chorus on early.
There's a rash of great stuff here, actually. "Lonely Day" starts off jaunty, but crashes into another fantastic chorus with help from unexpected jagged guitar edges and cool, BADFINGER-style backing vocals, while "In Our Darkest Hour" and (especially) "Nobody's Fault" are reminiscent of COSTELLO with an amphetamined ATTRACTIONS in tow.
|
"In Our Darkest Hour" has a staccato beat with great, sneery vocals from ALEX GREENWALD and crunches into the us vs. them chorus with panache and urgency, whilst "Nobody's Fault" goes wild via tremolo guitars, cheesy organ and cracking, PETE THOMAS-esque drums.
I'm a little uneasier about a few tracks. "Anthem" - the PHANTOM PLANET guide to writing a universal, erm, anthem - it'll probably be huge as a single, but its' lyrics (e.g.: "I woke up today, a song was swimming in my head…a song like this might just go down in history") are all a bit Californian self-help therapy for my liking. Also, the album's other misplaced wisdom is to close with two curious and uncharacteristically downbeat tracks in "Wishing Well" - fuzzy electronics and zombie piano lead into soft focus ballad territory and invoke SUPERTRAMP (ugh!) - and the slight acoustic (ecological?) afterthought of "Something Is Wrong"; neither of which are convincing in this company.
Nonetheless, despite this puzzling tail off and the occasionally irritating nods to saccharine FAB MACCA territory, PHANTOM PLANET'S debut album pushes enough of your buttons to ensure you'll want to stick around for the duration.
So it's probably fair to say that your reviewer's at least a friendly ambassador if not a fully-fledged disciple as yet.
|
