The new Phantom Planet album, Raise the Dead, came out on April 15th--four messy years after their last release.
That 2004 self-titled effort appeared soon after their song "California" became synonymous with sun drenched images of spoiled Orange County high schoolers. At what will probably prove the all-time height of their popularity, when that familiar tinkling of piano keys perked the ears of Ugg-clad teenagers across the nation every week, Phantom Planet put out an album that sounded NOTHING like "California."
Predictably "rebellious?" Perhaps. The smartest move? Of course not. After the OC hype subsided, the band found themselves widely forgotten, scorned by the inevitable "they sold out to THE MAN!!" fans, and dropped from Epic Records.
Still, they kept recording...and recording...and recording. And the new record's release date kept getting pushed back...and back...you get the picture. They signed with Fueled By Ramen, the home of Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, and Paramore, among other similar acts. Remaining fans breathed a collective wary sigh.
Why do we care so much? As a band, they churn out catchy tunes with fair consistency; they're fun, but they're certainly not life changing. But as people, their brotherly goofiness is inexplicably charming. The hangers-on, myself included, take their trials and tribulations to heart--a Phan (forgive me) since age 14, I continue to root for them with a touch of irritation and an irrationally motherly sense of pride.
PP got their start waaaay on back in 1995; since then they've seen numerous friends and openers (Maroon 5, Rooney, etc) go on to greater fame and leave them in the dust. They've suffered the loss of a drummer (Jason Schwartzman) to Hollywood fame and a guitarist (Jacques Brautbar) to a "photography career," AKA another band. They've been shuffled from label to label, beaten down by flippant critics, changed their sound, gone from touring in a modest van to a huge bus and back to a van again.
And now they're opening for Panic at the Disco.
Cry, the inner music snob.
But take heart, if you care, because Raise The Dead is fun, catchy, slightly dark--a sort of half step between "The Guest" and "Phantom Planet." The belated transition piece, five years late.
The "new" single is "Do The Panic," a SUPER old track that's been entirely reworked. After their Athens show, lead singer Alex Greenwald told me the song was re-recorded on the advice of a long-time mentor. I think the mentor was onto something, because while the new lyrics may jolt the ears of those who know the original, this song is DAMN catchy.
Other standouts include "Dropped," a deliciously poppy and chorusy hand-clap-fest; "Leader," an ode to cults with a group of children lending cheerful backing vocals; and the title track, which proves a worthy and appropriate intro to the prevailing sound of the album.
Honestly, this record is what Phantom Planet are all about. It's happy clappy sunshine with a slightly creepy underbelly; but all traces of drama and moodiness are delivered with a wink and a grin. They may get knocked down and pushed around, but they keep on trucking with nothing but a little more dirt on their chins. That's what I like about them.
So fuck off, snobs; I can still listen to my California kids without shame. They are my nostalgia band, the boys who claimed my heart in the 8th grade, and they'll buy a true-blue fan a grilled cheese sandwich in a dodgy 24-hour diner, to boot. (True story.)
Maybe a little Ramen isn't that bad for you after all.
-Haley "Always in the mood for a forced pun" Crain
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