- Release date:
- April 15, 2008
- Artist/Band name:
- Phantom Planet
- Record label:
- Atlantic/Fueled by Ramen
- Official Web Site:
- http://www.myspace.com/phantomplanet
- Overall User Rating:
-
(1 rating)
Why you should care: One afternoon some time ago, frontman Alex Greenwald was hanging out with his friend Mark Ronson and laid down a cover of Radiohead’s “Just.” There were horns involved. Many consider it one of the greatest covers of all time—"many" being American college radio programmers and the editors of NME. Even still, many recognized Greenwald as simply the singer of “Californiaaaaaaaa…”
Verdict: After a howling start with “Raise the Dead” (no, really, Greenwald howls for most of the awkward four minutes), “Dropped” hits a bit of that ’04 stride with heavy guitar rage and an uncanny Glenn Tilbrook vocal treatment. Mild exhale, this band still rocks. Or does it? “Leader” plays into Greenwald’s fascination with Manson, Koresh and the dudes from Heaven’s Gate, morbid source material packaged generically with gratuitous over-dubs and a never-ending female sing-along chorus. “Geronimo” is too big for its own good, with a lot of dumb drum fills and phantom vocal chord pain (guy really didn’t have to sing like that). “Do the Panic” is bad John Mellencamp. “Too Much Too Often” is better, with a rollicking bass line and that nifty Philicorda flourishing at the bridge, but the California cool has long dissipated.
X-Factor: He may not sell as many records, but ex-Phantom Planet drummer-turned-actor Jason Schwartzman has, ironically, earned more indie cache than his former bandmates with his lo-fi solo musical project, Coconut Records.
