Phantom Planet: The Guest : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Before he played Max Fischer in Wes Anderson's Rushmore, Jason Schwartzman was playing drums in Phantom Planet. The fact that he earned his celebrity from the film rather than the band is no coincidence: The Guest is merely OK, a power-pop record whose songs seem catchy while they're playing but don't make a lasting impression. It's hard to believe that the results aren't better. Five pretty young lads in their early twenties, Phantom Planet do so many things right on their second album. For starters, The Guest is gorgeously produced by Mitchell Froom and Tchad Blake: Its sounds are clean but not slick, big but not bombastic. Even when superfluous string parts muck up the proceedings ("One Ray of Sunlight," "Anthem"), the group retains a garage band's sloppy jouissance. Ballads such as "One Ray of Sunlight" tend toward the insipid in the same way that Travis' do: syrupy yet satisfying. Singer Alexander Greenwald has strong pipes and a theatrical style that lands somewhere between Thom Yorke and Elvis Costello. Guitar parts layered three deep jangle and buzz through tight ditties such as "Hey Now Girl" and "Nobody's Fault." A lazy boogie rhythm and explosive chorus on "Lonely Day" echo Teenage Fanclub. And "California" -- whose comedic video was directed by Schwartzman's cousin Roman Coppola -- turns a simple one-handed piano melody into the album's strongest hook. The Guest is a letdown, but it's only Phantom Planet's second effort; they could yet do something to merit the attention that Schwartzman's fame will bring them.

JENNY ELISCU
(RS 891 - March 14, 2002)