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Album Details

• Artist: Phantom Planet
• Album: Phantom Planet
• Label: Epic
• Year of Release: 2004
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: dscanland on 2004-03-13

New York's The Strokes have a new name, Phantom Planet. Well, not quite but it is curious how in just one album a band can change from the power pop sounds of The Guest to the garage rock sound that is all the rage on their self-titled album. Now that Jason Schwartzman has left the band people can actually focus on the music that Phantom Planet put out instead of the celebrity status of their drummer. He played drums on most of this album but has officially left the band leaving Alex Greenwald, the vocalist the proper spotlight. I really didn't hear much more than a Strokes rip off upon first listen to this album but I'm on my third listen now and totally enjoying it. Remember their bit of a hit single "California"? Let's forget that because this stuff is totally edgier. I'm not sure if they all moved to California but this album is a lot more straightforward and forgives the pop elements of their last album. It's a bit of an anomaly too because famed producer David Fridmann was brought in for this album, a sound that he rarely touches. Have a listen to "Making A Killing" or the surprisingly complex "Jabberjaw" for some examples of the radical departure Phantom Planet have taken here. "By The Bed" may be the closest thing to anything that was on The Guest. First listen, this album was a 3. Now that I've come to terms with the shift in direction, 4.5.

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