Phantogram - Ceremony

Following 2016’s ‘Three’, Phantogram´s fourth LP further solidifies their near-pole position as one of New York’s leading contemporary electronic exports. ‘Ceremony’ beautifully merges themes of both catastrophe and optimism, such as the opening line of ‘Pedestal’ - “You could make a hospital lovely”, while ‘Into Happiness’ hits hard, with huge drums and confident melodies that deftly create a sense of uncertainty, and ‘Let Me Down’ grooves urgently. ‘Glowing’, an unmistakable highlight, dives headfirst into a more fragile territory - almost painfully human. The duo have well established their trademark sound, and sonically ‘Ceremony’ pushes this to new extremes - the synths are darker, the drums are heavier, the vocals more melancholic than anything fans would have previously heard from them, yet still catchy as hell.