UNDERGOING a notable hiatus from the studio since 2011 and leaving fans clamouring for new output, multi-faceted and daringly experimental six piece The Phantom Band have rewarded their audience for their unwavering support with a plethora of releases over a short period of time. 2014 saw the undefinable act unleash Strange Friend, a nine track LP that epitomised the band’s unabashed creativity and served as an exercise in genre related dexterity. Whatever the impetus for the band’s current spike in productivity, it has yielded outstanding results thus far; further demonstrated by the spellbinding Fears Trending.

Comprised almost in its entirety from the sessions at Blantyre’s Chem 19 that spawned its lauded predecessor; Fears Trending is rampant eclecticism at its most pungent. Despite the fact that the vast majority of its content emerged from the same timeframe, the two albums tread upon completely different ground, with guitarist Duncan Marquiss remarking: “Maybe it’s the evil twin of ‘Strange Friend’. They’re stranger friends, oddball vestiges and hybrids.”

Invoking a more melancholic and foreboding tone, Fears Trending has enabled The Phantom Band to express another side which had remained unearthed within their collective psyche.

Opening with ‘Tender Castle‘, its synth led intro bears resemblance to the innovative sound of Giorgio Moroder in its driven and repetitive nature before descending into a percussion heavy composition elevated by Ian Stewart’s incredible affinity for clattering yet harmonious drumming. Featuring an acoustic guitar refrain and smatterings of piano towards its apex; this jolting transition provides a sense of poignancy to proceedings.

‘Local Zero’ follows, galvanised by a funk based and incessant groove that is masterfully interwoven throughout. Featuring the most restrained of vocalist Rick Anthony’s performances throughout the album’s duration, the track’s deviation from its initial melody into more raucous fare with seamless cohesion is almost psychedelic in nature.

The atmospheric ‘Denise Hopper’ establishes the darker inclinations that resonate within several other tracks throughout the record, doing so in a cinematic fashion. Centred upon guitar strains that are indebted to Ennio Morricone’s stellar work for the soundtracks of Sergio Leone’s  heralded spaghetti westerns; the track provides a rambunctious overtone that conjures up a sense of urgency, whilst Anthony’s vocals are simultaneously impassioned and haunting in equal measure.

‘Black Tape’ sets off in similar fashion, featuring almost tribal incantations before spiralling into lugubrious territory that recalls Nick Cave’s trademark sound.

‘Spectrelegs’ highlights the paradoxical nature of the album, beginning in a whimsical and dainty fashion before immediately plunging the listener into a rollicking riff that bears hallmarks of thrash metal. Returning toward a more sedate sound immediately after; their ability to capture a genre’s essence for a few fleeting bars is to be commended and sets them apart from the vast majority of alt rock bands plying their trade today.

The amalgamation of a laid back and fuzzy approach with sinister organ on ‘The Kingfisher’ creates a sound which verges on Mac Demarco delving into Film Noir, whilst album closer ‘Olden Golden’ melds the Scottish folk leanings present on their early releases with a southern overtone.

An album which keeps its listener on their toes from a band that refuses to be led into complacency; Fears Trending encapsulates the ingenuity of the Scottish sextet and demonstrates their willingness to cast aside any preconceived notions surrounding them.