Phantogram
Oval Space, London | 12 May
Hot off the release of Voices, their full length in five years, upstate New York synth-pop duo Phantogram have pleased their UK fans by finally coming across the pond to play not one, but two live shows in London.
Without a whisper of a word, the band jumps straight into Voices opener Nothing but Trouble, with their explosive live drums and inspired groove proving that they can achieve as much of a high-energy stage presence as a five piece. Josh Carter provides the perfect backing for Sarah Barthel’s vocals while swapping from guitar to keyboard and whatever other instrument he damn well pleases. Their set-up invites audiences into a dreamlike adventure that flows into an elegant nightmare. Fog machines and coloured lasers fill the open-space room, reflecting the haunting keyboard hooks, heavy guitar riffs and exquisite vocals. Barthel, the perfectly bobbed and heavily leather clad babe, manages to hypnotise a sold-out crowd with her energetic ethereal presence as they throw out a string of old and new belters with Turning into Stone, Don’t Move, The Day you Died, and climax with their new single Fall in Love. After a rapturous applause, the duo pull out encore hits of old-time favourite Mouthful of Diamonds and the rendition of Celebrating Nothing is topped with an instrumental finish that was simply enough to say a thousand words.
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Words: Angela Hui
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