Phantom Family Halo Let It All Fall Out

Last year the ever prolific Bonnie 'Prince' Billy put out a great mini-album backed by Brooklyn-via-Kentucky psych band Phantom Family Halo called The Mindeater, and it was a pleasant surprise (as in its existence - Bonnie isn't monikered the Prince for nothing...). I knew nothing of the band, yet last week was handed their new album through Knitting Factory Records. When I Fall Out mixes elements of psych, Kraut rock, and Roxy Music-esque '70s glam (the band's influences are listed as John Cale, Pretty Things, Can, Faust, Alice Cooper, Amon Duul, Guru Guru, Bryan Ferry, Scott Walker, Wire, Syd Barrett, Roky Erickson, Throbbing Gristle, "and every Kraut rock band you've ever heard and then some"), a heady concoction that is immersive and yet incredibly free-flowing, the album finishing before you feel like it's really begun. The thing is, whether it's the swirling psych angst of 'White Hot Gun' or the more laid back sounds of 'Dirty Blade', not one song feels wasted, throwaway or loose. All of these things combine to create a tight album of songs that feel like archived tracks from 1973, yet leave you feeling refreshed - if a little spaced out...


Inspired by concept albums of the past, such as Pretty Things' SF Sorrow and Wire's 154, When I Fall Out is the first of two Phantom Family Halo albums to be released in 2012 - a "dark" and a "light" album. The songs were all written following the death of lead multi-instrumentalist Dominic Cipolla's close friend and bandmate who died at age 33.

You can grab the album here.

Phantom Family Halo - White Hot Gun
Phantom Family Halo - Dirty Blade

Prince Bonnie's Phantom Family Get Angelic, Eat Minds

I was not expecting this - and for that direct purpose, it becomes predictable, I guess...

Will Oldham needs no introduction of course. Phantom Family Halo you may be less familiar with. Perhaps you checked out their 2009 release, Monoliths & These Flowers Never Die... No? Neither did I. Apparently they carve out a dirty niche in evil desert psych rock evocative of the chunkiness of Hawkwind and the dark theatricality of Roxy Music (not my words, they are the press release's, but I really liked that description, so let's float with it for now). So when the two meet, what do we have? The new collaboration between Bonnie 'Prince' Billy and The Phantom Family Halo called Mindeater.

Apparently the idea for this was born from a live performance they did together supporting Roky Erickson last summer in Louisville. Doesn't Erickson ever rest? Even when he is only indirectly involved he gets things done. Because Mindeater is ridiculously good. Unfortunately its only four tracks long - it is an EP after all - but it comes off as a ridiculously delectable appetiser that has the mouth gushing forth with saliva, yet the main course never arrives... That doesn't mean its not worthy - au contrair, mon frere! There are elements of other bands we have sampled in the past - Bardo Pond in their more ponderous, around the hallucinatory campfire mode immediately springs to mind - but this is its own beast, exploring the vibes of rustic folk and late ’60s/early ’70s twangy psychedelia without delving into using synths or anything that might slightly resemble the latest trend. No, this is a proper psych wigjam of the highest order, and I hope to fuck this is not the last we hear of this highly imaginative pairing.

Sophomore Lounge are responsible for releasing Mindeater, which hits out today! This vinyl-only 10" release is extremely limited... only 1,000 copies will be pressed.

Bonnie Prince Billy And The Phantom Family Halo - I Wonder If I Care As Much