AWOLNATION- The Phantom Five
Label: Better Noise Music
Producer: Daniel Saslow
For nearly a decade and a half, Aaron Bruno’s alt-rock outfit, AWOLNATION has reigned as one of the most curiously intriguing acts in all of music, slowly but steadily unleashing a stream of mind-bending albums with topical and stylistic ranges equally limitless. In a trend that is either curiously coincidental or simply a more common marketing trend (or perhaps both) in the year 2024, Bruno claims that newly minted LP, and their first since the early days of the 2020 pandemic, The Phantom Five is likely the final creation under the AWOL monicker. If we were talking about a different act, it would be natural to use this finite proclamation to read into the dangerous, apocalyptic overtones of Five. But this is AWOLNATION we’re talking about, and these brooding and intense commentaries have been commonplace since their 2010 debut. So, if this truly proves to be their final outing, they’re departing with a record that remains aurally and thematically loyal to the core of what their loyal base has adored them for all along. The record grapples with a wide array of ingredients that have contributed to the chaos of a modern society: overstimulation, excessive media, inescapable technology, rampant paranoia, and unrealistic cultural standards, among other challenges. The music characteristically whiplashes between a swath of sounds, from hazy psychedelia and electro-tinged alt-pop to blood-curdling Hip Hop and ethereal folk. It remains uniquely impressive how well the band combines these vast ingredients, while Bruno’s own singing remains as strikingly diverse; at times it’s easy to forget that the vocalist delivering such evocatively raw verses is one in the same with the one providing the hallucinogenic allure on the choruses. High-water vocal moments like the ones he accomplishes on tracks like the beautiful “Panoramic View”, haunting “A Letter To No One” or the sparse “Barbarian” make one long for a few more moments in this vein, especially when the seemingly similar “City of Nowhere” ends just a minute in. But you simply cannot expect to reign an alt-rock mad scientist like this in for very long intervals. It’s also easy to get over that disparity in tempo when the contrasting full-throttle selections are so damn intoxicating. Rapturous anthems like “Just Sit Stand March”, “Bang Your Head”, and “I Am Happy” easily rank among the group’s most earthquaking, both sonically and narratively. Guest spots from Dead Sara’s Emily Armstrong and rapper Del the Funky Homosapien on the most former and latter selections of that respective trio both make for natural additions to the record, and elevate their songs to a new level of engagement. Again, the themes of passing time and finality are not new elements in their canon, but one cannot help but view the pair of songs which close the record (the life appraising “When I Was Young” and the self-destructive “Outta Here”) as a fitting farewell in the context of this truly being the band’s swan song. The fact that these tracks bid adieu without any semblance of peace or resolution, but rather imminent doom, both fittingly tracks within their narrative, while also leaving the door open for more to come. Regardless of which avenue proves to be true, The Phantom Five ranks proudly within the overall AWOL lexicon, every bit as fearlessly adventurous and provocative as its four predecessors, while also standing tall as one of this year’s most captivating moments in the overall alt sphere.
Track Listing:
- “Jump Sit Stand March” featuring Emily Armstrong (Aaron Bruno)
- “Party People” (Bruno, Isaac Carpenter)
- “Panoramic View” (Bruno, Zach Irons)
- “I Am Happy” featuring Del the Funky Homosapien (Bruno, Teren Jones)
- “Barbarian” (Bruno)
- “Bang Your Head” (Bruno)
- “City of Nowhere” (Bruno)
- “A Letter to No One” (Bruno)
- “When I Was Young” (Bruno)
- “Outta Here” (Bruno)
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