Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet
Epic Records
The new wave/post-punk revival, kicked into high gear last year by New York City bands such as the Strokes and the Rapture and the shape-shifting Ryan Adams, has migrated west to Phantom Planet, an ambitious Los Angeles-based indie-rock band that released its self-titled third album Tuesday.
Out went the sweet, harmonic power pop of 2002’s “The Guest,” which the band rereleased with bonus tracks last fall, capitalizing on fresh PR from a theme-song slot (“California”) on the popular TV show “The O.C.”
In its place are sonic tributes to such period bands as Gang of Four, Television, Wire and the Soft Boys.
“Phantom Planet” is a rash of noisy guitars, dissonant production (courtesy of Flaming Lips boardman Dave Fridmann) and, most surprisingly, vocals that sneer and leer. The recurring targets here are lovers on the outs, some of whom merit apologies, others banished for good.
Singer-songwriter Alex Greenwald, who sounded like a nice guy next door on “California,” has taken to singing like a man under emotional siege, pouting semi-angrily in imitation of the Strokes’ Julian Casablancas on songs such as “The Happy Ending,” “You’re Not Welcome Here” and “By the Bed.”
Oddly enough, the album was recorded over six weeks last year in a New York Amish town, a locale that had anything but a calming effect on the band.
One reason for the new direction is the influence of Mr. Fridmann; another band in his stable, New York City’s Longwave, found itself pushing the outer limits of ’80s classicism last year. It’s possible that Mr. Greenwald, who likens the producer to “a musical dictionary,” pored over Mr. Fridmann’s record collection and found new sources of inspiration.
Another reason could be the departure of straight-rock drummer Jason Schwartzman, son of the Coppola clan’s Talia Shire and star of the movie “Rushmore.”
His replacement, Jeff Conrad (late of ska-punk bands such as Siren Six!), brings a more experimental rhythmic palette to the band’s sound.
Each of the 11 songs on “Phantom Planet” is fashioned like a Strokes song: It’s deconstructed and reassembled, track by track, from the inside out — typically starting with weird, propulsive rhythms and building outward with distinct guitar interplay from Jacques Brautbar and Darren Robinson and melodic bass-playing from Sam Farrar (son of Olivia Newton-John svengali John Farrar).
This album is so highly compressed and tightly wound, you’d have to peel back layers of instrumentation to find the germ of Mr. Greenwald’s original ideas.
Independently of the Strokes, Phantom Planet also rediscovered the reggae side of late-’70s punk with “Badd Business.” Updating “Phantom Planet’s” retro allusions are the Beastie Boys-like chant of “Big Brat” and tentative dabbling with electronica (“Knowitall”).
Angry though the album might seem, there’s a tongue planted firmly in cheek throughout “Planet.”
The beat-the-system anthem “Making a Killing” and the late-night rambler “After Hours,” for example, are steeped in the kind of slacker humor delivered by the alt-rock band Cake.
Phantom Planet wears its neo-new-wave outfit well. Our hopeful guess, though, is that the band is still in the fitting room.
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