Customer Reviews

Phantomsmasher

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is an amazing CD! Granted it's not for everyone, in fact I would say it's not for most. Imagine if Squarepusher and Napalm Death had a baby. Some times it's brutally fast and others slow and melodic. Even though it is fairly processed there is still a very human feel to the entire CD, which I know is important to some people. Always keeps you on your toes. Track 2 has my vote for one of the best songs of the year. If your looking for something new, look no further.

If James Plotkin has made a bad record I haven't heard it yet. 'Phantomsmasher' is an insane grab-bag of sounds and ideas, warped, fragmented and frazzled, that in the hands of lesser talents (here he collaborates with Speedranch) would have been merely annoying. OK, my wife thinks it IS annoying, but that's another matter...

A highly disorientating listen, 'Phantomsmasher' lurches between styles and tempi at breakneck pace. Every track is a brutal collage of splintered electronics, pummelling drum machines, fizzing guitars and unearthly tortured wailing. After a while, or a couple of listens, your mind adjusts to the flux -- or just gives up resistance -- and the result is a highly exhilarating and sometimes hilarious wash of sensations. Even at its most intense, 'Phantomsmasher' retains an anarchic sense of humour, which may have a lot to do with Speedranch: the track titles give you a slight idea of that.

I guess this review isn't very helpful so far, but it's a record you have to hear for yourself. A few arbitrary reference points might be Kevin Drumm's 'Sheer Hellish Miasma' or some of Plotkin's more extreme O.L.D. material. The combination of frenetic programmed percussion and virtuoso live bass can't help but remind you of Squarepusher at times. Tracks constantly threaten to turn into prog rock, free jazz or Ultraviolence-style gabba, but then veer off into something else. And there are astonishing passages where, through the storm of noise, you can hear epic guitar riffing that wouldn't sound out of place on an Isis album (try listening to this after 'Oceanic' and it's quite obvious).

I'm not sure what kind of emotional weight 'Phantomsmasher' has, if any; but as a pure aural experience it's constantly thrilling and surprising. Genre-defying postmodern 'rock'.

Dashing any ephemeral streaks of insightful work with skull-numbingly, hyper-actively repetitive drum-and-bass noise applications, this particular project yields little more then a one dimensional horror-speed gimmick, though there are just enough fleeting moments of compelling material that makes you know Plotkin can do better.

Man, I wish Mr. Plotkin would pick a project name and stick with it! I hate it when I miss out on his new releases because it's got a new name.

Phantomsmasher is very similar to JP's previous project, Atomsmasher. It's still chaotic and noisy, with lots of sporadic hummingbird grindcore drumming. However, there's also an element of melody and structure that's much more prevalent here than on Atomsmasher. There's a continual pendulum swing between chaos and sweet beauty throughout most of the record. Sort of like Flux meets Bolt Thrower. It's quite reminiscent of the last couple of Boredoms records, Super AR and Vison Creation Newsun. For what it's worth, I like this much more than Atomsmasher, which violently assaulted my poor widdle eardrums when I wasn't expecting it.

I went out on a limb getting this album, not really sure what to expect from it. However, I'm a huge fan of IDM, Squarepusher and the like, and was hoping for something at least relatively similar...It's not, despite the claims by some that it is.

Even disregarding that poor comparison, the album on its own does not stand up well. Some people have described it as intelligent or progressive, but mostly it comes off as boring and unlistenable. Vaguely attention holding guitar loops set against noisy backdrops to rhythms that don't even seem to properly sync up with the rest of the track. While there are some interesting sonic moments on the album, there is little to keep you from jumping from one track to the next and then never listening to the album again. Skip this.