Album Review: Phantogram - Three
By Diana Buchert, Contributor
[Republic; 2016]
Rating: 5.5/10
Key Tracks: "Funeral Pyre," "Barking Dog," "You're Mine"
Phantogram have always been the masters of melancholy. Often flirting with samples among trip-hop synths and minimalistic guitars, Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter have always evoked a sense of unease but with a finalizing peace and a signature sound. It started with their debut Eyelid Movies, and its catchy yet simple “When I’m Small,” which features a looped drum track and guitars as Barthel croons, “I’d rather die than to be with you,” before the EP Nightlife’s popular, multi-layered “Don’t Move” told the tale of “nervous feelings” and “drinking problems.” With Voices’ successful exploration of 60s-Wild West-slinger vibes of “Howling at the Moon,” slower tempos and synths that cut deep, hopes were high for their newest effort. Unfortunately for Three, the trip-hop has hardened to club-like pulses, the samples have dwindled in uniqueness and Phantogram’s ability to evoke feelings of melancholy has now turned to feeling messy.
Kicking off Three is “Funeral Pyre,” the only track that flashes back to early Phantogram, featuring dark tones and the usual combination of deep synths, drum machine claps, Barthel’s airy vocals and simple guitars that build up further into the song. Leading off the dark tones of the opening track is “Same Old Blues,” which features a cringey drop of guitar and bass that ruins the flow. The song is, unfortunately, one of the many disappointments that feeds into several of the predictable pop beats and lackluster build-ups heard throughout the album, roped in with “You’re Mine,” “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore” and “Run Run Blood.” While a song’s potential to reach Top 40 radio airplay isn’t necessarily a bad trait, but it’s a step away from Phantogram’s usual flair and neglects their ability to elicit atmospheric instrumentals that catch the listener’s attention with its twists and turns.
A major contributor to the album’s tone was the untimely loss of Barthel’s older sister, who was a close friend to Carter as well. Lyrically, the songs held deep emotions but musically, the memorability and potential of crafting an impactful, perhaps conceptual story of dealing with loss fell short, especially with “Answer.” The siren-like synths and hurried strings on "Barking Dog" creates a tension but the breakdowns pinch, not punch, upon landing. While “Cruel World” explores the deception of life’s appeal with the lyric “I used to see beauty in people, but now I see beauty and bones” and other tracks speak generally of death itself and the questioning that follows, the theme becomes awkwardly split. “Extra, extra, read all about it, you think you slow me down? I highly doubt it,” sings Carter on “Run Run Blood,” and later, the album lands with “Calling All,” where Barthel reminds listeners that, “We all got a little hoe in us” and to “shake, you know you wanna shake.”
By no means does the album have to dwell on one theme, but when it’s the showcase of most of the album, straying away from the topic causes confusion. Three’s most disappointing feature is definitely the fact that each song could be enjoyable on their own, but as a unit, it’s all sadly muddy. Unfortunately for Phantogram, it seems as if their growth has become stunted for their third attempt.
