by Joe Mis
– Senior Columnist —
Phosphene may not be a familiar name (or word) to many, but this Chicago-based 4 piece is trying to make it a household term. The modern rockers have part of the Vans Warped Tour and SXSW, and according to Wikipedia their name means “…a phenomenon characterized by the experience of seeing light without light actually entering the eye.” All definitions aside, Phosphene’s music is ear-catching, and they may indeed be eye catching as their lead singer Jeni Leigh was selected as one of the “Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock” by Revolver Magazine.
Phosphene has been together for a few years, releasing their debut album Any Last Words in January 2014. After significant touring, they headed back into the studio to record their second CD, the self-titled Phosphene. The band’s musical “tightness” is obvious since they’ve had a stable lineup, and were all involved in other projects prior to forming Phosphene. Vocalist Jeni Leigh Imparato (ex-Persistence Of Memory) has a strong voice and decent range coupled with clear diction and lots of passion. She is backed by a very skilled group of musicians: guitarist Dan Bikar (ex-Epiphany Dawns), drummer Andrew Cantore (ex-Beautiful Nightmare), and bassist Michael Salazar (ex-The Last Petal).
“Riot” starts the CD out in a mixed way. With a sound something like Paramore meets Joan Jett, Jeni leads the band through a hard rocking tune highlighting her vocal grit, the clockwork precision of Michael and Andrew, and Dan’s six-string heroics during a brief but catchy solo. However, bits of “pop” cheese show up thanks to an air raid siren, vocals are yelled through a megaphone, forced rhymes, and over-the-top gang vocals – almost like they wanted to sound cliched. A modern rock guitar line and slick but subdued keys make “Hold On” a very well done slow rocker. Jeni keeps the tone smooth and soft proving that she can truly sing, while Cantore lays down some interesting and varied drum tempos. “Anti-Hero” cranks things up again with an alternative Metal feel, bringing intense bass and drums to the fore. Jeni also does a nice job on the harmony vocals. “The Day After Tomorrow” is very out of place – it is a Pop/Dance track suitable for a club. While catchy and well done, anyone looking for hard rock or metal would be scratching their heads as to why this song is here. Fortunately “Scream” follows and is a superb mid-tempo rocker with a solid vocal line and some neat guitar work laid over a slick and bubbling bass line. Moody near Gothic rock makes an appearance on “Skyfall”, a tune dominated by Jeni’s superb vocals.
“Antidote” is a bass driven hard rocker – all about the rhythms here. The band it at its best with strong contributions from everyone – great vocals, big guitar hooks, powerful bass and drums, and superb teamwork. The only thing missing is a balls-out guitar solo. “Mechanical Heart” is a Modern Rock social commentary with effective lyrics, but at times the words seem forced rather than flowing, and the track relies too heavily on electronics rather than the core Metal sound that works well for them. “Warrior” is another that relies too heavily on electronic squeals and synths, but a strong bass/drum one-two punch helps to put it back into the hard rock world. “Michael” is a fast-paced pop rocker in the Paramore vein, while the upbeat “Indestructible” rolls in some well executed tempo changes and would be a real winner if it wasn’t for more jarring megaphone vocals. The album closes with “Lock Me Away,” a well done keyboard/vocal piece that will remind the listener of just how good Jeni’s voice can be.
Phosphene’s self-titled release is very well mixed and engineered. The overall sound is crisp and clean, with a sense of thickness and warmth. All of the instruments are balanced, but the arrangements are built around Jeni’s voice – yet done cannily enough that everyone else gets a chance to be a hero throughout. Phosphene has decent songwriting chops, and there is no doubt that they are a talented bunch as performers. A bit of variety in song length would be appreciated though, as the band has firmly got a foot in the 3:00 to 3:30 range. If the songs lengths are similar, at least the styles are different…
Phosphene is a decent album, a good one considering the age of the band. Running the gamut of genres from Dance Pop – to Pop/Punk to Gothic Metal, Phosphene seems to be able to do it all, and do it all well. However, the wild mix of styles should be toned down, allowing the band to focus on what they do best – writing and performing solid mid- to up- tempo rockers with a metal edge. Right now they are using too broad a brush and while their material as a whole should have very wide appeal thanks to its variety, pop fans will not get into the darker, heavier materiel, while metal heads with just skip through the ultra commercial Pop stuff.
Overall, Phosphene is a mixed bag, and while fans of every Rock/Metal genre will find tracks to like, they will find a number of songs that are outside of their listening comfort zone. Technically well done and highly polished no matter the musical style, Phosphene proves that they have all the pieces they need to become a truly top attraction. Once the band selects a stylistic focus they’ll have the potential to become a monster act.
Genre: Hard Rock, Pop Metal
Band:
Jeni Leigh Imparato (vocals)
Dan Bikar (guitars)
Michael Salazar (bass)
Andrew Cantore (drums)
Track Listing:
1. Riot
2. Hold On
3. Anti-Hero
4. The Day After Tomorrow
5. Scream
6. Skyfall
7. Antidote
8. Mechanical Heart
9. Warrior
10. Michael
11. Indestructible
12. Lock Me Away (Piano Version)
Label: Independent
Website: http://www.rubyoureyes.com/
Hardrock Haven rating: 7/10
