Google Artist of the Week: Phantogram

For the last fifteen years, indie pop has largely consisted of suburbanites fiddling with guitars, writing self-consciously poetic lyrics and wishing they were British. Phantogram is part of a self-correction: indie pop inspired by American hip-hop. Not that the upstate New York duo’s debut album Eyelid Movies is an outright rap record -- there is no rapping, after all. But the strong hip-hop flavor in Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel’s compositions is undeniable, from the same type of vinyl pops and hisses you might hear on a DJ Premier track to drum programming inspired by Jam Master Jay.

"When I'm Small" Phantogram

"As Far As I Can See" Phantogram

But more than these relatively minor embellishments, hip-hop’s spirit permeates the music. The title of “Mouthful of Diamonds” sounds like an ode to oral jewelry, and Barthel quotes Biggie Smalls at the beginning (“high on your own supply”). But her straightforward soprano register is a million miles away from the drug trade in Bed-Stuy, and it’s clear that the hip-hop is more of a cultural reference than a sonic one.

Though Phantogram’s songwriting is influenced by Death Cab for Cutie, built on delay-pedal guitars and a combination lightness/sadness, Carter and Barthel liberally mine a forgotten realm of alt-fusion from the ‘90s: Primitive Radio Gods; “Loser”-era Beck; and post-Sebadoh Lou Barlow. Ninja Tune downtempo also looms -- British by way of American, hip-hop slowed down and smoothed out for the cocktail lounge.

‘90s nostalgia is reaching a fever pitch, and Phantogram are hardly alone in mining the nexus between alternative and hip-hop. This year, Seattle indie label Sub Pop (best known for breaking grunge) has signed the celebrated hip-hop group Shabazz Palaces and chillwave sensations Washed Out. And the blurring of genres is floating around in the larger pop sphere, too, largely unnoticed but evident to everyone who listens. Kanye West’s “Runaway” embodies this dynamic -- moody hip-hop with more singing than rapping, and a watery feel in the bass line. With its single-note piano line and slow-moving breakbeat, “Runaway” could easily be a Phantogram song.

Phantogram’s label Barsuk has been into melding genres for a while, broadening the pop/rock palette with bands like with Aqueduct and Menomena. Phantogram’s relaxed hip-hop speaks to an indie pop constituency, while on the flipside, Kanye runs hip-hop through Europeanizations. They end up in the same places. So though the two acts aren’t exactly peers, Phantogram is nonetheless at the forefront of this fusion energy -- in its low-key, indie pop way. -- Andrew Matson

"When I'm Small" Phantogram

"As Far As I Can See" Phantogram