The Phantom Band – Strange Friend
Scottish musical-medley band The Phantom Band have released their third studio-album Strange Friend, as they continue to blend together a frenzy of genres – especially folk, prog-rock, and indie rock.
The opening track “The Wind that Cried the World” is worth your full-attention, capturing the band’s skill in a snapshot of peculiar synth sounds, overly-active percussions, poetic lyrics and a reverberating chorus-line.
“Clapshot” is a full-bodied song that keeps pace with its predecessor, complete with high-energy, a sprinkle of unpredictability and a hearty-helping of talent.
The Phantom Band prove to us that not only can they create 3-dimensional songs, but also slow and bare-boned pieces such as “Atacama”.
They return to their usual sound with “(Invisible) Friends” – layered with articulate drum patterns and harmonious vocal melodies, followed closely by “Sweatbox” – the quirky-dance track, held together tightly with a solid bass line and dance-pop synth melodies.
Just over 6-minutes in length, “Women of Ghent” flaunts the band’s love for progressive rock, and experimentation with sound, as they build up, crash in a fury of organized chaos, and rebuild once more.
The final track “Galapagos” is more of an outro than a song, with the echoing and free-formed distoration of the guitar blending together to conclude the album.
Listen to the must-have album in full via Drowned in Sound.
