Review Summary: Your latest dose of Jesper-core, brought to you by Sunnyvale
Phantom Handshakes’ first LP, 2021’s
No More Summer Songs, just had “it”. Taken at face value, the record was an unremarkable slab of dream pop notably lacking in classic tunes, but music is made for listening, and
No More Summer Songs had “listenability” in spades, with its series of good-to-great songs flowing together absolutely perfectly into a breezily beautiful near-masterpiece. As such, it’s one of my favorite albums in the genre in recent years. The American duo wasted no time either in crafting their follow-up.
A Passport To Remain pursues continuity of style and vibes with its predecessor, with the music still a delicate dance of lushness and simplicity, and the vocals somehow still feeling both wispy and viscous like thick maple syrup. Where this sophomore full-length differentiates itself is primarily through a greater focus on slower tunes. These tracks are undeniably pretty, although in some cases I’m not sure they play to the group’s biggest strengths. That said, closer “Slow Down (About A Dog)” acts as a convincing argument for growth in this direction, as it proves absolutely radiant in its fragile and ethereal beauty, battling the irresistible warmth of opener “Passport (How Far I Will Be)” for the title of the album’s strongest track. In between, there’s plenty to love as well. While Phantom Handshakes’ second LP might not quite measure up to their first, they’ve still got “it”. Now they’re just waiting on the world to realize that fact.
