"Slip your fingers under the noose" The Phantom Band intone, "what was flesh is dust again" before people start wailing like they're hitting themselves in the knackers with the Old Testament. Yet, as sombre as this Glaswegian sextet are, there's a real poppy melody at work here too, and a riff reminiscent of the Velvets' 'What Goes On', which makes 'The Howling' an oddly jaunty stroll through death fear.
TIMEOUT
Unlikely, but utterly triumphant and epic (4.39 minutes) melding of Can and Stereolab with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy from the Peter Buck-endorsed Glaswegian sextet, whose own singer has described it as 'irritating'. Seems this is not a moody, motorik groove, then, but the sound of someone pissing on their own chips. Applause, please.
ARTROCKER
Glasgow's The Phantom Band have hit a somewhat critical frenzy, and it's not entirely unjustified. 'The Howling' is taken from their debut album 'Checkmate Savage' with the charming Scottish brogue of frontman Rick Anthony draped over the squelching keyboard riffs and januty guitar melodies which make it come across as a mix between Orange Juice and the Dandy Warhols. With eccentric backing vocals the song tumbles in like a little ball of light in this month's otherwise uninspiring releases.
LEE PUDDLEFOOT
CULTUREDELUXE.COM 25.05.09
I saw a review of The Phantom Band’s debut album ‘Checkmate Savage’ which said that, if the band was from New York rather than Glasgow, critics would be falling over themselves to declare them the next big thing. I realise I’ve lost twenty journalism points for starting my article off with the contention of someone else, but some truisms are worth repeating at the expense of vanity.
The first single from ‘Checkmate Savage’, ‘The Howling’, is an apt choice for setting the stall out of where the boys are coming from. ‘The Howling’ is a fully-realised fusion of various impossibly cool musical forms: motorik drums, a languid techno-influenced bassline, jangly guitars pitched low in the mix and some Specials-esque backing vocals for good measure. The best part though is that ‘The Howling’ sounds like so much more than the sum of its parts. The lightness of touch that The Phantom Band display in combining styles will be familiar to any fans of The Beta Band, and like Steve Mason and co., TPB have a knack of making other bands look very ordinary indeed.
Let’s just hope that they can overcome their geographical handicap and realise much more of their potential than The Betas did.
BOB FERGUSON
THE DAILY MIRROR
God knows how long these Glaswegians will survive as they claim to be "destructive, directionless, negative and argumentative". But if you are wondering why their haunted folk-pop has earned critical plaudits and a thumbs up from REM's Peter Buck, check this single for evidence. [4/5]
LOSINGTODAY.COM
Indeed we here have been much loving of this lots' debut full length ‘Checkmate Savage’ that in all the excitement and joy that its poured forth and bestowed upon our person we’ve somehow forgotten to write about it in despatches. That’ll teach the blighters for cobbling together a knee-knocking, nugget-nurtured cutie. Anyhow debut single culled from that aforementioned set sees ‘The Howling’ being turfed out of its safe confines and forced to embark on a bit of lonesome space walking. Hands up who fancies a spot of kraut folk. No I haven’t been on the pills again or else had a bang on the head that has somehow disengaged our ears and seemingly removed them from reality - mind you two hours of Merzbow on the turntable may have played a small part in matters. Do we not hear the faint drift of Quickspace and Fly intoxicating the listening space and what’s this as we scratch a little deeper beneath the kosmic tonalities - some slender and barely audible elements of The Band and Buffalo Springfield? Okay maybe not so much of the Springfield’s but there’s no denying that there’s a homely campfire pageantry unfurling here curiously tweaked by a discernible element or three of kraut borne motorik rhythms and the subtle wash of buzz humming hyper driven sprinkled space dust. Anyhow in truth one of the weakest cuts of the debut full length (see I told you the album was a gem) and something that has had us all in a quandry wondering whether to don the sheriffs hat or the space helmet, featuring loads of woo wooing moogs, dust bowled mantras, ghostly hymnal recitals which I suppose all adds up to being something that admirers of the Earlies should be rescuing from record racks and lavish much love and affection on while as a bonus for all you comic buffs the sleeve features artwork by Frank Quietly (all star Superman, new X-Men, Batman, the Invisibles et al). Ma are those beans ready yet?