Phantogram
Eyelid Movies
Rating: 3.5/5.0
Label: Barsuk
Some might argue that Eyelid Movies‘ opener, “Mouthful of Diamonds,” is all you need to hear from Saratoga Springs’ Phantogram (originally Charlie Everywhere). It’s an introduction, conclusion and fitting cross-section of their joining a long parade of beat-driven genre benders, they’ll say, from the mainstream Metric to the obscure ADULT. Drum loops, samples and soft, shoegazing guitar fill an expansive, textured sea in which Sarah Barthel’s appealing vocals drift freely–and it’s true that Eyelid Movies’ 10 remaining tracks dance around that same basic formula. Even if they have a point, this is, at the very least, the best album I’ve heard come out of a barn in upstate New York.
Barthel is joined by her friend-since-junior-high, guitarist Josh Carter, and the two have produced a debut album that’s part dance-friendly electro indie, part downtempo trip hop and part what’s described by the band as “street beat psyche pop,” whatever that means. Some of Eyelid Movie’s best cuts have been around since before this long player’s release, or on the odd indie label, appearing on a string of recent EPs. Guitar-heavy “When I’m Small” strikes a delicate balance with a varied structure; sparse refrains occasionally interrupt its addictive groove of distanced riffing and looped percussion. The paranoia of “Running from the Cops” seems digitized right down to its whomping bass and wavering synth, splitting the difference between Portishead and DJ Shadow. It’s certainly the best of the tracks that feature Carter on vocals–here heavily reverberated. While offering few surprises, these are skillfully constructed compositions that work to emphasize very different aspects of that opening formula.
Album stand-out “As Far As I Can See” wanders furthest from the pack; its stuttering start soon bursts into a full-out, sample-laden electro-soul number built around a beat borrowed from the best Detroit hip hop. “As far as I can see/ Nobody loves me/ As far as I can tell/ Nobody loves you either,” Barthel belts seductively, suggestively. Lyrics throughout Eyelid Movies often walk this blurred line between romance and loneliness–but storytelling is a secondary concern. The purpose of the vocals seems geared toward texture before context as the pair finds an impressive variety of ways to mess with a vocal track. Only on the closing “10,000 Claps” is lyricism really pushed to the forefront, relating an obtuse story of alienation and fully showcasing Barthel’s impressive pipes. Eyelid Movies only ever flounders when Barthel takes a break; “Turn It Off” and “Bloody Palms” are victims of an off-kilter lurch that Carter’s particularly flat vocals can’t salvage. Luckily, these missteps are few and far between on an effort that’s largely consistent.
Though conceptually simple, it’s an impressive array of influences that Phantogram has worked into their debut. With pop aspirations that are capably met, Eyelid Movies is My Bloody Valentine meets Nightmares on Wax. Lush textures built on minimal beats are dense enough to interest anyone with an ear for atmospherics, but still catchy enough to satisfy the most dependent of groove junkies. Appropriately, this is consistent with the trick of optics the duo is named for–an illusion that only works when the eye finds a happy medium between opposites.
by Brady Baker
