Voices (CD)

2014 release, the second album from the Electronic Rock duo from Saratoga Springs, New York. Formed in 2007, Phantogram is Josh Carter (vocals, guitars) and Sarah Barthel (vocals, keyboards). The band name was partially inspired by an optical illusion called a phantogram, in which two-dimensional images appear to be three-dimensional. They described their sound as quot;street beat, psych popquot;. According to Josh, their music has quot;lots of rhythms, swirling guitars, spacey keyboards, echoes and airy vocals.quot; Phantogram has played and toured with bands including: The xx, Ra Ra Riot, M83, Metric, Beach House, Zero 7, Yeasayer and countless others.

After making some noise with their debut album, Eyelid Movies, which straddled the line between trip-hop and shoegaze with the skill of an acrobat, Phantogram have refined and expanded their sound in really interesting ways. The duo of Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter have added R&B influences and hip-hop swagger to the mix, refined their songwriting skills, and in Barthel's case, become a very powerful vocal presence. Their second album, 2014's Voices, shows how far they have come and is a really solid and deep modern pop album that sounds perfectly crafted and infused with real emotions. It's easy to see why their music has blown up over the time between albums: the arrangements are huge and accessible, with every bit of space filled with interesting synth sounds, drum programs, and guitars that create a richly enveloping atmosphere. Their use of samples is deft as they dig deep into the work of South Korean psychedelic guitarist Shin Joong Hyun, the Chi-Lites (with excellent use of "Coldest Day of My Life" on the beautiful ballad "Bill Murray"), and rare soul grooves that provide some off-kilter mystery and grit to their dreamy approach. Rising out of the background like a massive wave of warmth and giving the album an emotional center are Barthel's impressive vocals. She can belt it out like she's trying to reach the back rows of an arena (like on the rumbling new wave-inspired "Nothing But Trouble" or the Rihanna-produced-by-Tricky jammer "Fall in Love") or she can slink around in the mix with some real subtlety (on the murky, moody "Black Out Days"), but no matter the size or mood, she totally nails everything. Voices is filled with catchy, emotion-packed songs that will sound great booming out of radio speakers, soundtracking late nights spent alone and wondering, and anytime some really powerful modern pop is needed. ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi

Performer	Phantogram
Music genre	Alternative
Music subgenre	CD - ALTERNATIVE ROCK
Music release type	Release
Media format	CD
Original release date	2014
Edition	Standard
Language	English
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Series title	Phantogram - Voices [CD]
Track listing	Nothing But Trouble,Black Out Days,Fall in Love,Never Going Home,The Day You Died,Howling at the Moon,Bad Dreams,Bill Murray,I Don't Blame You,Celebrating Nothing,My Only Friend
Record label	Republic
Number in series	2
Track name	I Will Always Wait For You (Theme From Voices), Rosemarie's Theme, Disco If You Want To, The Children's Song, Family Theme, Anything That's Rock & Roll, I Will Always Wait For You (Instrumental), On a Stage, Across The River, Bubbles in my Beer, Elder Green, Come See about Me, My Best Girl, Life is Fine, Cold River, Far Away, Heaven Knows, Corina, If I Never Get Back to Hackensack, Going Down to Nashville, How Can She Dance like That?, Voices, Left In Flames, Rain, The Years, The Murder Of Me, Strange Lullaby
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N