Phantogram and Abe Vigoda own my face!

I can’t remember the last time I felt like a teenager consumed by a song with the desire to listen to it over and over again on repeat. Completely obsessed with each note and every word. At the moment there are two songs that have turned me into an obsessed teenage girl again. Repeating Angel on the Crush album by Abe Vigoda and You Are the Ocean on the Eyelid Movies album by Phantogram.



Phantogram crossed my path this summer when I went to the Toyota Antics and FILTER Culture Collide block party in Echo Park. I had no idea who they were, but they happened to be on right after White Lies so I stuck around. The larger than life funky sonic beat filled the air and there was no escaping it. Without warning I began to dance and couldn’t stop till their set was over. Sara Barthel and Josh Carter are the two parts that make up this dynamic Saratoga Springs duo. She sounds like an angel with delicate melodies dancing on her tongue while she pounds on a keyboard making it appear exceptionally punk rock. And he sounds oddly intriguing, a bit like a mix between Peter Gabriel and Kurt Cobain, while he slovenly strums the guitar and beats the MPC pad occasionally. They stole my heart while I was completely unaware that day. That evening I went home and bought Eyelid Movies and I haven’t stopped listening to it and sharing it with friends ever since then. You Are the Ocean is the one song that I listen to on repeat with headphones in while lying on my bed like a teenage girl. Similar to the way I behaved when I first discovered The Pixies album Doolittle.





As for Abe Vigoda, I had been hearing about them for years and never really checked out any of their stuff until a few months ago. I listened to several albums, but it was their most recent release, Crush, that really caught my ears. A local Los Angeles band and a product of The Smell in downtown. Michael Vidal, Juan Velazquez, David Reichardt and Dane Chadwick make up Abe Vigoda. Mix equal parts of David Bowie and New Order to create the electro pop rocks cocktail that drips down your ears like warm honey. The song Thowing Shade is what first got my attention on this album. It starts off with an up tempo electro synth beat and vocals that tease you and draw you in as the song builds into a waterfall of sound that envelopes you. The production on the Crush album is clean and precise without sounding too polished. Keeping the gritty roots of this experimental noise band alive in their evolution. The song Repeating Angel sounds like something that belongs in a John Hughes movie. I may never grow tired of this song.

The xx have made their mark!

Until just recently, The xx was a four piece band consisting of Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, Jamie Smith and keyboardist Baria Qureshi who only just left the band citing exhaustion as the reason for her departure. They formed a band in 2005 in Wandsworth, south west London, when the four met at Elliott School. Romy and Oliver, lead vocalists, have known each other since they were 3-years-old and started creating music together at 15-years-old. The female vocals and guitar are delicately delivered by Romy with Oliver pouring deep vocals and bass in for the balance. Jamie is the master beat maker on the MPC and he is absolutely brilliant to watch live. Some people say beat machines have no soul, but arguably Jamie truly does bring The xx songs to life.

Croft and Sim’s voices are like crushed velvet and cashmere together while they envelope and caress you with each word. And slow driving bass lines that drip into your ears like warm honey. The backbone is in the MPC with the beats cleverly arranged to give a little toe tap. I close my eyes and listen to her and then to him and get a warm fuzzy feeling that pours through my entire body. The breakdowns and the build ups lead into a full sonic island of melodic sound. The lyrics that sound like something Thom Yorke may have written in his journal when he was 19. On the song Crystalised lyrics like “…I’ll forgive and forget before I’m paralyzed…” hook straight into a dark place that exists in all of us. Helping us find and heal some buried hurt from a long lost love ages ago with each tender tone. Each song leads perfectly into the next for a body shaking ear-gasm.



The xx songs are brooding and mellow with some introspective rhythms. There is a modern goth feeling that oozes from this band while they don all black attire and new wave haircuts. If you could imagine New Order and The Pixies having a baby band…this would be it! Their debut album, xx, was released on Young Turks Records on 17 August 2009 and ranked #9 on Rolling Stones “best of the year” list. They have quickly become one of my favorites and I know I’m not the only one who can’t get enough of The xx from the looks of their healthy tour schedule. They will be at Coachella on April 17, 2010 so if you get the chance, catch this British wave of electro-goth goodness.

Sweet Little White Lies <3

I recently discovered a wonderful British band called White Lies. A group of twenty-something British blokes that are reminiscent of the new wave sound of the post-punk 80's with their own original flavor. If you are or were a fan of The Cure, Joy Division, or New Order then White Lies should perk your little ears right up! The lyrics are wonderfully poetic and morbidly delectible in an emo/goth kind of way with songs about death, suicide, kidnapping and so on. Each song delivered by Harry Mc Veigh's haunting vocals that truly resonate in my soul. Thought provoking tracks with great danceability, a subtle pop undertone, and technically very tight on all levels. I for one and really enjoying thier premier album, To Lose My Life.