Phantom Lanterns @ The Republic

Takoma Park, MD January 2016

Our bud Dan took these rad pictures of us back in January.

<a href="http://phantomlanterns.bandcamp.com/album/growing-apart" target="_blank" data-mce-href="http://phantomlanterns.bandcamp.com/album/growing-apart">Growing Apart by Phantom Lanterns</a>

One day at a time until and maybe a little into 2015 (like right now), we bring you some bands you should expect good things from in 2015.

Band: Phantom Lanterns

Location: Annapolis/Baltimore, MD

Why You Should Care: Their live show...

This rules! We're so stoked to release a bunch of music in 2015

Phantom Lanterns - Growing Apart (Annapolis, Maryland)

Who It Is: Phantom Lanterns – Growing Apart; Missing Page Records (2014)

What It Sounds Like: SPORT, Snowing meets math rock, post-hardcore, post-rock, emo

<a href="http://phantomlanterns.bandcamp.com/album/growing-apart" target="_blank" data-mce-href="http://phantomlanterns.bandcamp.com/album/growing-apart">Growing Apart by Phantom Lanterns</a>

Review:

Phantom Lantern’s Growing Apart is the work of Annapolis, Maryland, trio of Jake Wilkerson, Kaitlyn Baker, and Jon Cole (later replaced by Mike Mapes). These three describe themselves as “experimental, emo, math rock, and post-???.” Their first EP is a 21 minute adventure of familiar sounds and new ideas.

Read More

Thanks for the kind words!

Album Review: Phantom Lanterns - Growing Apart

9/10

As I dive more deeply into the pool of seemingly endless talent that is the local Baltimore punk scene, I continue to discover notable, groundbreaking, and oftentimes outright sick acts from a variety of sub-genres under the broad umbrella that is alternative music.

Phantom Lanterns are a Baltimore based emo three-piece whom I unfortunately missed the opportunity to see recently when they played at Ka-Chunk!! Records, a popular Annapolis record store. They released their first EP, Growing Apart, through Bandcamp last month.

Growing Apart is a release instantly reminiscent of the midwestern emo renaissance of the late 90s, full of twinkly, sad, harmonic riffage and howling, sorrowful vocalism. Phantom Lanterns, while undoubtedly honoring a certain sound, also set themselves apart with unique pedal effects, especially prevalent on the track All Of Your Bridges Burn, as well as incredibly skilled, compelling guitar work. While maintaining for the most part what I would call a classically emo sound, the EP also has its more complex, math rocky, melodically unsettling moments such as on the track Better Off, which can oftentimes be an outright emotional assault, and is also a showcase for some of the EP’s more aggressive vocals. Overall, I strongly recommend this EP for any fan of emotional hardcore and its offshoots. 

You can listen to Growing Apart on Bandcamp here.

You can also now like The Kockpit on Facebook. 

This rules!

<5K: Volume 7

FAQ: Hey Asher, is there a theme to any given edition of <5K? Asher: Well, friend, there are a few subthemes within each issue that sort of flit around each other like different birds in the same cage. For instance, today’s issue features 2 British bands, 3 post-hardcore artists (generally speaking), 2 bands that I listened to while eating Fun Dip™… you can cut the cake up many different ways. Does it matter? I think it doesn’t really matter. Thanks for asking, of course! I’m always happy to answer questions. See below for contact info. I love you.

THE OLD STORY OF THE NAMESAKE//JUST WHAT’S GOING ON HERE There’s an xkcd comic that exposes the secret coalition to make certain YouTube videos go viral: they have to get exactly “300+” likes from the committee, and are then certified to spread like the plague onto innocent newsfeeds worldwide. In that vein, I present you with <5K: exposition on bands that have less than 5,000 likes online. Perhaps one of them will be the next to pass that mysterious threshold into the world of fame and fortune… after all, once you get 5,000 likes, you sell out every show and your records go gold. That’s how it works, right?

*Submissions* If you’re in a band, your friend is in a band, or you just know a band with less than 5,000 likes that deserves to be heard, send a link to asher.meerovich@gmail.com. If I like it, I’ll put them in an upcoming edition of <5K! No inquiries about Tomato Dodgers, please.

Phantom Lanterns (430 likes) occupy an interesting crossover of musical space. The Annapolis, MD trio plays math-tinged emo, but with deliberate nods towards chaos. The instrumentation on “The Dreamer,” the opening track on their release Growing Apart, ranges from tight, noodley riffing to lurching rhythms that seem close to the edge of coherence and back within the span of one bridge. It’s got serious momentum, and combined with the urgency of the vocals, adds up to a swift headbanger that will get you nostalgic for your nights spent feeling misunderstood.

Jarbird (645 likes) is a British band that might strike the familiar chords of rich, electro-tinged r&b and vaulting vocals with U.S. audiences. They’re thinking along similar lines as Adult Jazz and Chet Faker, crafting lovely, heavenly vocal pop with crystal-clear melodies built around piano and drums. The harmonies are out of this world; despite only having two songs on their soundcloud, they’ve hooked many fans already, clamoring for a full-length. It’s easy, strong listening, and it works for many moods. Grab a quiet seat and have a listen.

<a href="http://crows-an-wra.bandcamp.com/album/kalopsia" data-mce-href="http://crows-an-wra.bandcamp.com/album/kalopsia">Kalopsia by Crows-An-Wra</a>

I’m not sure where to begin with Crows-An-Wra (1,139 likes). The UK band’s showstopping sophomore LP, Kalopsia, sounds like At The Drive-In consulted with David Lynch about making a hair-raising horror-punk masterpiece. It’s constantly turning tight corners, tension mounting every moment between the double-guitar assault and masterful interplay between vocals and drums. It’s flourishes like “Heavy Heads,” a haunting ballad sung by fantastic guest vocalist Elizabeth Birchley, which keep Kalopsia from being pigeonholed or easily defined. It’s meticulous and explosive prog-post-hardcore-punk-power. Listen to it.

<a href="http://aurevoirit.bandcamp.com/album/black-hills" data-mce-href="http://aurevoirit.bandcamp.com/album/black-hills">Black Hills by Au Revoir</a>

Au Revoir (2,460 likes) are a Jersey band that has hollowed out their own Venn diagram of post-rock and distorted indie-weight, creating bleak, monumental landscapes with cinematic guitars and unstoppable drums. They wreak a particular kind of havoc upon a listener’s open mind, filling it with visions and shadows, eternally solid. It’s neither heavy nor abstract enough to be called drone, nor direct enough to be truly called indie. It’s somewhere in the murky depths that Moving Mountains might occupy in an apocalyptic world, with nothing but the howling wind to provide anything close to vocals. Their latest release, Black Hills, deserves your full attention, but tread with caution.

The B-Side Shuffle (2,705 likes) are a full-fledged funk machine from right in the nation’s capitol. They make highly groovy dance-rock, and with a large, rotating lineup, they work as a pooled effort to throw a whole bunch of good sounds together and come up with driven, instinctually toe-tapping music meant for having a good time. They keep the rhythm section impeccably tight, and then layer it with delicious guitar, horns, and numerous singers. It’s immediately physically moving, and is shown by their latest EP, Farmalade, they have plenty of diverse ideas to keep the party going all night long.

-Asher Meerovich is a writer and musician in College Park. He likes to be near water. Read more of his musical explorations at http://hire-me-rolling-stone.tumblr.com/