Album Details

• Artist: Phantogram
• EP:
Nightlife
• Label: Barsuk Records
• Year of Release: 2011
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: carina on 2011-11-16

Oh Phantogram, where have you been?!  It has been 2 years since Eyelid Movies shook our eardrums for the first time. Nightlife is only 6 songs and it is enough to satisfy your fix.

Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel open the EP with “16 Years”, which they performed at Coachella in April.  Although Josh wrote this track, Sarah takes the lead vocally. “16 Years” is upbeat, yet still has that eerie Phantogram sound that listeners are used to.

“Don’t Move” has such an addicting beat that the song could go on for 3 hours, and I would not get sick of it. Sarah sweetly utters “I’m not your spirit guide/ I’m never like you/ Uncomfortable to/ This is starting to fuck with my head”.  She makes vulgar words sound beautiful.

Honestly, the variety of horns stands out the most in “Turning Into Stone”. Josh sings during majority of the song, with Sarah adding backup vocals during the chorus, “Cause it is a new day/ And I got new ways/ Of turning into stone”. The end of the song is amazing. Hopefully this is on the setlist for their live shows!

During an interview with SPIN Magazine, Josh and Sarah said, “Make A Fist”, was written for Eyelid Movies, but they decided not to finish it in time for the release. The track begins with a minute and a half of different beats, which eases into Sarah’s lyrics. Later she seductively repeats, “This is the future/ This is the future/ This is the future…"

Why is the EP called Nightlife? Well, "Nightlife", is the most beautiful song on the album. Lyrically, it is simple and fascinating, “Take this world away/ And strangle it with wires for a lifetime/ Make a pretty face and say I’m fine/ I’m okay/ Only in the nighttime.” It is hard to not replay this song after hearing it for the first time.

“A Dark Tunnel” ends the EP. If you listen to a snippet of the beginning of the track and then the same for the end, you will think it is two different songs. “A Dark Tunnel” starts off pretty wild, with John leading vocally.  On the other side of the spectrum, Sarah comforts the listener during the choruses and to the light at the end of this dark tunnel.

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