Photos by Dylan Simmons
This past Thursday, I found myself elbowing my way through the Troubadour towards a pocket of air. “This has got to be a fire hazard,” I thought to myself. Indie–electronica duo Phantogram had just sold out the Troubadour — three nights in a row. Evidently, not a single fan had rainchecked, the crowded room buzzing with anticipation. The Troubadour’s hideaway vibe felt like the perfect choice to complement the powerful set to come.
Duo Sarah Barthel and Josh Carter formed Phantogram in 2007 in upstate New York. For those interested, the word “phantogram” refers to an optical illusion that utilizes the layering of 2-D images to make things appear to float off the page. Think red and blue shapes appearing around a digital object, making it look as if it were glitching. This visual effect almost perfectly translates to the auditory expression of their synthesizer’s tone. Listening to the Phantogram’s gritty, piercing, synth-heavy live sound, it almost feels like your body is splitting with the harmonies. If you’re having trouble picturing this, I encourage you to listen to “Fall In Love” off their 2014 album Voices. Widely received as the most successful of their five studio albums, Voices stands among other giants within the indie electronica movement, like MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular and Beach House’s Bloom. Voices became the catalyst for Phantogram’s career with enduring hits like “Black Out Days” and “Fall In Love.” With their seamless blend of dancey electropop and passionate vocals persisting in my playlist rotation, I was excited to finally see them live.
Descending from the Troubadour’s treehouse-style greenroom (I am dying to know what’s up there), the duo assumed their positions. Facing one other over an altar of sound equipment, the two held an undeniable energy as they loomed over the eager crowd. Carter was representing New York with a Yankees cap, while Barthel was sporting a Lakers t-shirt that stayed meticulously tucked into her leather lace-up bottoms paired boldly with leopard print tights — a perfect stylistic representation of the band’s two homes. Getting straight to business, the first song on the setlist was “News Today” off their 2020 album Ceremony. Immediately, I was taken aback by just how many people were singing the words; I was in the presence of some die-hard fans. Barthel’s live vocals are strikingly similar to that of the recording, which made the experience even more awe-inspiring. Launching into “You Don’t Get Me High Anymore” off their album Three, the audience was singing along in almost complete unison. Phantogram has an undeniable, dance-inducing charisma instilled into their songs that had thoroughly entranced everyone.
“Black Out Days” touches on Phantogram’s deeper meaning as a band. Many of their songs feature themes of depression, addiction, and toxicity. While “Black Out Days” is lyrically abstract, these overtones still bleed through.
“Speak in tongues / I don’t even recognize your face
Mirror on the wall / Tell me all the ways to stay away”
“I’m hearing voices all the time and they’re not mine / I’m hearing voices and they’re haunting my mind”
Sonically, this song perfectly embodies its lyricism. The stereopanning technique and layered, echoing vocals situate their listener within the all-too-loud mind that Barthel is describing. This translation from description to sonic interpretation (and physical sensation, when experiencing their music live) is one of the things that makes Phantogram so special.
A new favorite of mine off of their newest album, Memory Of A Day, was “It Wasn’t Meant To Be.” Released in 2024, this song could have come straight out of the Euphoria soundtrack.
“Love me like a bomb and leave me shattered falling in the blue
Everything you tell me keeps me fading into you
Yeah, you always knew it / And you cut right through it
Lying next to you / Pretending every single night”
While a lot of their songs are abstract and illustrative in their lyrics, I would describe this song as brutally honest. “It Wasn’t Meant To Be” feels like floating through a painful dream. Green swirling lights encompassed both Barthel and Carter onstage as they poured this pain over the audience. The audience responded in turn by drawing closer and swaying along with the steady beat. The imagery of this doomed relationship made me feel connected to this band in a way I never imagined.
The achingly beautiful “Fall In Love” is nothing short of devastating, and it definitely lives rent free in my mind. It feels like a modern rendition of the trip-hop genre, with a funk-infused, intense baseline and its softer contrasting vocals. With a chorus that seemingly forces you to sing along and a beat that makes you bang your head in time, no one could resist feeling transfixed by Phantogram’s power. Exploring themes like guilt and mutually assured destruction, this isn’t just a sing-along song; it’s a scream-along.
As if it was almost palpable in the air, there was an intensity in the way this crowd loved Phantogram. Direct eye contact, no phones, and nonstop dancing — only a deep connection with the music can make a jam-packed room of people entirely devote themselves this way for an entire set. If you see Phantogram coming by your local venue, I highly recommend you take the chance to experience them for yourself.
