Electro-indie duo Phantogram are from New York, but so much about them screams Seattle. It’s not just for the fact that they’re signed to local label Barsuk Records, but something buried deeper in their moody-yet-cool sound and aesthetic. It’s mellow and upbeat, yet a bit dejected. The beats are nearly hip-hop-worthy bangers, but forsake their hard edge for a more nebulous haze. Like Seattle for most of the yesterday, Phantogram’s music isn’t pitch-black dark, but definitely has shades of grey.
It came as no surprise that their Neumos show last night was elbow-to-elbow full, the vibe like that of a hometown crowd. Opener Josiah Wolf from the band Why? tried to engage the crowd with some select numbers from his “solo” (he was joined onstage by a lady friend who sang and played bass and keys) side project, but had some tough going. Although he showcased some incredible multi-instrumentalist capabilities using loop-pedal driven guitar layers while simultaneously singing and playing drums, holding a drumstick in his picking hand and hitting the snare between chord strums, his uninventive tunes received a largely apathetic response. Chatter from the disinterested crowd turned into a heavy buzz by the end of the set, nearly drowning out the somewhat muted performance and making it very clear who everyone was there to see.
When Pahntogram’s Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel finally trotted onstage and dropped the intro sample loop of “As Far As I Can See,” everyone was immediately sent into a swaying, head-bobbing two step. Barthel’s breathy vocals floated through the crowd like the fluffy plumes of fog liberally emitting from the stage while Carter fiddled with some drum pad loops and a soaring, delay-drenched guitar lead. With the addition of a live drummer on a combination acoustic and electronic kit, their already streetwise knock-kick beats took on an additional punch that made each one seem bigger and better than on record.
Even some of the weaker efforts from their singular release Eyelid Movies – tracks like “Turn it Off” and “You Are the Ocean” – sounded exciting and complex over the house PA. The more popular numbers – “Mouthful of Diamonds,” “Running From the Cops,” “When I’m Small,” – were nearly flawless, with Carter building up each beat piece by sampled piece, throwing in bass-heavy, low-E-string guitar loops or more warily melodic lead parts. Barthel wasn’t one to be upstaged, commanding the mic with her dreamy croon and providing some buzzsaw-heavy low-end synth.
With the fog, colored lights and trippy abstract visuals – ghostly, brooding and heavy on the eye imagery (Eyelid Movies, I get it) – projected on the screen behind them, Phantogram played a rousing set that was groovy, ethereal and perfect for a gloomy Seattle evening. The crowd remained so enthused the entire time that you almost forgot that this band has only been together for a couple years, and has exactly one album to their name. With such a tight, clean and delightfully moody live show right now, it will be fun to see what Carter and Barthel have in store for the future.
