Phantom Planet
Phantom Planet
(Epic/Daylight)
First Appeared at The Music Box, March 2004, Volume 11, #3
Written by John Metzger
Phantom Planet’s self-titled third album may be a shock to the power-pop fans
who glommed onto its hook-heavy extravaganza The Guest. Trading in its
infectious melodies and soaring anthems for the brash and brassy aural assault
of its new release, the group blasts through 11 tunes in 35 minutes, sounding
more like The Strokes and The Clash than Radiohead, Fastball, Elvis Costello, or
Big Star. It’s a bold move for Phantom Planet, just as it is for any ensemble
that veers so drastically from a style with which it so closely has been
associated. After all, California, the band’s signature song, has been
featured virtually everywhere, from the theme to Fox’s The O.C. to the
soundtrack for the film Orange County, and nothing on its new album is
even remotely similar. Unfortunately, Phantom Planet’s new direction also isn’t
nearly as effective. Despite the buoyant reggae of Badd Business, the
noisy clatter of The Happy Ending, and the XTC-like post-punk bop of 1st
Things 1st, the songs simply begin to blur into an innocuous haze
long before the album concludes. True, the effort has its moments, and, for the
most part, it’s enjoyable. In the end, however, little lives up to the promise
held within the band’s gloriously nuanced approach to the The Guest,
where breezy, ebullient, pop-fueled, sun-soaked songs reigned supreme. 
Phantom Planet is available from Barnes & Noble.
To order, Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2004 The Music Box