Phantom Buffalo
Killing’s Not OK EP
Time Lag/Rough Trade
Click to hear: “Killing’s Not OK“
The plinking beginnings of “What Makes It Go,” the first track on Phantom Buffalo’s newest EP, Killing’s Not OK, are a welcome sound for those who have anxiously awaited a new effort from the Portland band. Much like the songs on their first album, Shishimumu, “What Makes it Go” reflects the flawless style the boys perfected in 2002. Ethereal bits and pieces of melodic textures build to create patterns over and around an underlying simplicity that is never compromised. It’s an apt introduction to the band’s newest release, reminding you that Phantom Buffalo (or The Ponys, once upon a time) sometimes ask the listener for patience. Sometimes they want you to wait a little and think about what’s coming. And they always come through. Listener engagement pays off with perfectly timed doses of amazing hooks and “How’d they write that?” melodies.
“What Makes It Go” builds from an undulating landscape of sound, and all of a sudden you’re bobbing your head to pounding drums and fuzzed-out guitar, wishing your hair was long enough to make a real scene of it. The pounding drums become thunderous. The guitar enters full-blown Pete Townshend territory. Flanged-out Moog underlines it all and paves the way for Jonathon Balzano-Brookes’ familiar voice to enter. The culmination of this seven minute track comes in the last two minutes, when the so far mostly atmospheric instrumental turns itself up to total rocker.
The heavy, distorted guitar sound of the opener carries on in “Dynamite Squirrels,” where it meets more spacy Moog “oohs,” this time setting a more assertive scene for Balzano-Brookes’ near-falsetto. Balzano-Brookes’ voice seems to have a new confidence and power on this track. He’s a more empowered singer for recording it. A little less Belle & Sebastian — a little more rock star.
Musically, “Squirrels” builds so long (maybe too long) that its previously compatible elements begin to compete against each other. But as a preview of things to come for this band, it’s encouraging to hear them leap confidently into a gritty, Mark Mothersbaugh-inspired composition like this.
After this, the EP unexpectedly presents a dramatic and beautiful ballad that sounds not unlike an Irish traditional. At first this track (unlabeled on my copy) seems like a non-sequitur, but by the third listen through OK, the melody comes through. It’s a familiar and welcome shift: Simon and Garfunkel-inspired chord progressions, flawless harmonies, and some choice solos from Tim Burns’ lead guitar, doubled in falsetto by Balzano-Brookes.
A melodic bass line introduces the ’60s Brit-poppy powerhouse of a title track. “Killing’s Not OK” is easily the album’s strongest offering. This is Phantom Buffalo at their best. The jazzy, meandering bass and snare rolls crescendo into echoing low toms and cymbal crashes – echoes of pure power rock — replete with screaming guitars. The climax is wrenching and perfect, the journey there so good you want to skip backwards before the next track starts.
“To Be The Boss,” a down-tempo showcase for stripped-down guitar and bass, sounds a little too radio-friendly for Phantom Buffalo. It has all the hallmarks of an indie-rock radio classic, and lacks the sincerity of the balls-to-the-wall title track. That said, it’s still a great song and a nice closer for this EP.
Phantom Buffalo recently signed a deal with the label Rough Trade (home of Belle & Sebastian, The Decemberists, Arcade Fire). This EP will officially be released “sometime very soon,” we’ve been told several times. It’s a must-have. That’s right, I said “must-have.”
— Sean Wilkinson
Phantom Buffalo plays Saturday, Dec. 3, at Geno’s, 625 Congress St.
