Phantom Planet
'Raise the Dead'
Hollywood hunks resurface after The OC, get the bends.
Now that they're labelmates with Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco, you might expect these well-connected L.A. dudes to go new-school emo on the belated follow-up to their 2004, self-titled breakthrough. Instead, Phantom Planet aim for Radiohead-inspired art rock: "Quarantine" throbs with seasick guitars and a tortured vocal from frontman Alex Greenwald, while "Confess" works up to a "Paranoid Android"–style freak-out. It's an impressive show of maturity, but Raise the Dead works best when power takes a backseat to pop.
SHARE:
