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Phantogram Make ‘The Day You Died’ Cheerful on ‘Letterman’

Phantogram 'The Day You Died' Letterman

Phantogram’s Voices is beautiful, for sure, but as SPIN’s Brittany Spanos said in her review, it’s “a collection of songs that toy with mall-goth angst shrouded in earnestness and sensuality.” Which is to say, it’s not exactly the kind of music that’s not easily translated into show-stopping performances. But as Phantogram showed on their recent seductive appearance on Kimmel and last night’s stop on Late Show With David Letterman, the combination of Sarah Barthel’s entrancing performance and the backing band’s added heaviness translates their studio tracks to the stage quite well. The New York electro-pop outfit’s Letterman rendition of the break-up lament “The Day You Died” was more poignant than powerful, with Barthel passionately delivering the lines, “I came to say goodbye, because you’re feeling nothing / Assuming to your heart, we got nothing at all.” Check it out above; we’ll add higher-quality video as it surfaces.