Phantom Family Halo/Invaders Preview: Part 1

This Thursday, two of Louisville's finest will bring their jams to Lexington : Phantom Family Halo and Invaders, playing with Lexington's own Cross. I've already mentioned that I've been wanting to see both bands for some time now, and fortunately the show coming up put a fire under my ass to spend some time with their new albums (both out through the magic of the increasingly impressive vinyl pressing wizards at Louisville's Karate Body Records, co-founded by Leo Weekly Music Editor Mat Heron).

I reviewed both albums for WRFL last week, so without further ado I'm gonna post adapted version of those reviews (Invaders' Floating, which I also love, to follow soon):

Phantom Family Halo - Monoliths & These Flowers Never Die


Unabashedly re-posting this video for 'Monoliths', which I also posted yesterday, because it's a great song, and at approximately 10 minutes should provide nice background music for reading the review.

The second release from Louisville neo-psychedelia masterminds Phantom Family Halo has got me pretty stoked. I’m not sure exactly what I expected from it, having never listened to their debut - I was hoping it'd be good stuff, of course, but these guys went and took it to the next level, creating what is seriously one of the most diverse and surprising albums I've heard in a while.

Throughout the 18-song duration, there are blatant nods to Bowie, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd - which are stupid-generic influences, I know, but don’t be misled. Yes, Phantom Family Halo borrows the glam, the heavy riffs, the acid-drenched ambiance from bands that we all know for a) introducing many of us to music in the first place, and b) proceeding to become so oversaturated on classic rock channels everywhere that the up-and-coming generation of hipsters seem to all but dismiss them. As a defender of classics, I applaud Phantom Family Halo for this rather ballsy move – they’ve reverted to the roots of '70s rock in a way that many bands seem too cool to do, but by no means do they dwell there (or anywhere, for that matter) for too long. From there, they rather effortlessly traverse straight into some futuristic time and place, leaving no real evidence of having traveled through or been affected by all the genres and sub-genre spin-offs that have popped up and keeled over between these two places. It gives the album a certain timelessness that is somehow disorientating and invigorating at once.

The songs vary from minimalist instrumentals to feral heavy metal to experimental lullabyes, but the overall ambiance is dark and apocalyptic, like some sort of science fiction or occult soundtrack (though I’m pretty sure there’s also a rock opera hiding in there somewhere).

With this album, Phantom Family Halo have distinguished themselves as artistic and psychedelic in a genre that tends to be characterized by (too much) fuzz, distortion, noodling and general f-ing around – Monoliths has those elements, don't get me wrong, but they seem to be much more controlled and intentional than in much of the neo-psychedelica that's come out in recent years. Further, this album, which the band recorded themselves in various locations, is refreshingly clean and sharply-produced – layered and complex without sounding like it’s hiding from some element of itself.

Founded by members of Sapat and The For Carnation, Phantom Family Halo are currently gearing up for a 12-date tour opening for Louisville's Young Widows and Russian Circles, including a record release party with Softcheque at Zanzabar in Louisville on November 25. Their Lexington show with Invaders and Cross (Al's Bar, tomorrow! - Thursday November 19) is the band's first show since drummer Tony Bailey, a longtime fixture in the Louisville music scene, unexpectedly passed away in October. The band decided recently that vocalist Dominic Cipolla (of Sapat), who has played stand-up drums in the band in the past, would take on the percussive roles for this tour. "This band has always been an ever-changing live situation," Cipolla said. "Every tour has been different and keeps us interested."

RIYL: Witch, Black Mountain, David Bowie, Hawkwind.