Hugh Montgomery 

The Phantom Band: The Wants – review

The Phantom Band have come back even stronger for their second album, says Hugh Montgomery
  
  


Shamefully, this Glasgow six-piece's 2009 debut passed under the radar despite displaying the alchemical, art-rock ambition of a Caledonian TV on the Radio. Gratifyingly, they've only come back stronger. Opener "A Glamour" sets out their mesmeric stall, unfurling from sawing percussion and ominous wind noises into an epic glam stomp. Elsewhere, they veer between swirling mysticism (the new wave-inflected, incantation-filled "O") and folksy simplicity (glistening ballad "Come Away in the Dark"), without ever losing their melodic footing. And though individual tracks enthral, it's best experienced as one long phantasmagoria.

 

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