When Phantogram released its first album, _Eyelid Movies_, in 2009, it created serious buzz with its “street beat” sound: a hazy take on trip-hop revival. The electronic duo from upstate New York expands upon its initial promise with its new _Nightlife_ EP, which was made while on tour with acts like Beach House, The Antlers and The xx.
The progress of Phantogram’s sound is evident from the first track of the EP. “16 Years” does away with the smoked-out bedroom feel of _Eyelid Movies_ in favor of something sleeker. Everything here feels a bit cleaner. Arpeggiated synths in “Turning Into Stone” are reminiscent of M83 circa _Before the Dawn Heals Us_: a cleaner sound.
Nowhere on the album is the new sound more evident than in standout track “Don’t Move,” which builds a surprisingly catchy pop song on a classic trip-hop foundation of drum samples and chopped vocals. Shimmering samples drop in and out of the song until the triumphant final chorus. It’s hard not to get drawn in by Sarah Barthel’s breathy hook as she sings, “All you know how to do is shake, shake/Keep your body still.”
_Nightlife_ reaffirms atmosphere and texture as hallmarks of “street beat.” The group spends the first minute of “Make a Fist” slowly adding in different layers of sound, building a driving, textured beat for Barthel’s ethereal voice to compliment. Occasionally, Josh Carter takes the vocal helm, but his deeper voice is more often than not lost within the low end of the music and ultimately doesn’t enhance the backing music in the way that Barthel’s does. Unfourtunately, the EP does lose steam as it goes on, with the three must-listen tracks right at the start.
On this new EP, Phantogram expands and redefines its signature sound. The duo is beginning to move away from the pack of bands other electronic bands and starting to become something more than just sounding like a Portishead tribute group. The synthesis of pop into trip-hop has created something that could become very special. Phantogram is a band primed to do something great on its next album.
