Review: The Phantoms – The Phantoms

The youthful enthusiasm of the first track (and single) on The Phantoms’ debut, “Baby Loves Her Rock and Roll” is perfectly indicative of what’s to come; 11 tracks of classic rock ‘n’ roll with a bit of a punk edge. Lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Victor Penalosa is not only the drummer for the reformed Flamin’ Groovies but has numerous noteworthy credits including his work with west coast punk icons The Zeros.

The west coast punk ethos is particularly evident in tracks such as “Chump Change” and “Heavy Traffic”. The latter uses the intro to Eddie Cochran’s “Something Else” to maximum effect. “One For The Road” has an alt-country feel to it and is a nice change of pace. The band gets their Stones on with “Tears Me Up Inside”, one of my favorite tracks on the disc. Steve Jones fans will dig the cascading Sex Pistols guitars in “Ditch Digger”, another winner. “The Ballad of Overend Watts” will also bring back memories of John Lydon & company.

Lots o’ kick-ass guitars here so if loud, straight-ahead rock ‘n’ roll is your thing, then check out the new one from The Phantoms. Street date is May 20. You can buy it here.