A couple of weeks ago I saw Phantogram open for The xx and The School of Seven Bells (here). They are a duo from Saratoga Springs that self-identify as "street beat/psyche pop" according to KEXP Seattle. Texturally, I hear them as Dummy-Portishead and not Third-Portishead, yet danceable. Obviously the feeling is completely different though since Phantogram is relatively happy and sung slightly shoegaze; if Portishead sounds like acid, Phantogram sounds like E (or so I hear). They also remind me of Chairlift, another group that features a girl/boy duet format and heavy use of synthesizers.
After seeing them live I worried that the main component of their appeal was the sheer volume and depth of the bass. Now that I've spun their EP more than a few times I'm convinced that while some of their songs just sound good live, others are excellent through dime-sized headphones (as long as they are not made by Apple).
By far, my two favorites off their EP are "When I'm Small" and "Mouthful of Diamonds." Coincidentally those are primarily sung by Sarah Barthel, while the three others on the EP feature Josh Carter's vocals more prominently. Because I saw them open for The xx, I think it's fair to compare their duet songs to The xx--and this is not the strength of Phantogram. Sarah Barthel's voice is breathy and atmospheric, complementing the synths and riding along with them, while I find Josh Carter's voice stretched and a bit pained. The best example of this is on "Voices" where Carter's wail starkly contrasts the easiness of Barthel's chorus. This is very similar to Chairlift actually, where Caroline Polachek sings the ambient, flowing part and Aaron Phenning sings the cutting, rough parts.
When I bought their EP, Barthel said that they would be back in New York City in December. I'm looking forward to seeing them again and hearing a full-length, which does not even exist yet as far as I know. It's hard to judge a band from a five-song EP, but if their songwriting keeps up I expect more than Chairlift's debut--which had a few great pop songs surrounded at times by an unfocused dream soundtrack.
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Wow, this is so good... not that I expected any less from a band touring with School of Seven Bells and the xx... though this song sounds more SoSB than the xx. I'm slightly afraid of checking out the other songs if they are not as good, since I haven't been that big on the xx.
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