Rockfreaks.net

Phantomatics

Phantomatics Demo

Written by: PP on 13/11/2005 20:14:07

Phantomatics are a Brazilian four-piece from London, UK, and their self-titled demo is their first release. You don't have to go far to find a source for their inspiration. Specially their first song "Taken You Away" could easily have been on Franz Ferdinand's debut album, though it would have left most of the tracks of the album in its shadow and it didn't take too many listens before it became a common guest on my playlist.

The second track, "Pacific", is a slightly slower, more acoustic anthem accompanied with background percussions and softer-than-silk singing, this time pointing the finger towards the more mellow band that everybody knows, namely Coldplay.

The third and the last track on the demo, "Breaking Open The Hand", has yet another stylistic direction. It brings in small elements from garage-punk bands like The Hives by using a slightly similar, soared-but-somehow clean vocals and a slowed down tempo to create a sound like that of Franz Ferdinand's, although different enough to clearly distinguish the two bands from each other.

Overall, it's a solid demo tape. Stylistically and quality-wise, it's good enough to attract some of the major labels' attention if they have a chance to listen to it, especially in the wake of Franz Ferdinand's commercial success in the last couple of years, but it is unlikely any of the majors will ever even know about Phantomatics. Still, the demo tape has left me pretty much drooling over their future EPs and/or the debut album. And while this demo is somewhat confused in terms of the exact direction it wants to go towards, that's just how demo tapes are: They explore the possible styles the band might pursue in the future. Regardless, their next EP will give much more light into what the band really wants to do, but until then, this is a solid demo tape proving this band should be followed closely in the near future.

Download: Taken You Away
For the fans of: Franz Ferdinand, The Hives

Release date 01.11.2005
Self-Released