Brass Phantoms have released their eagerly awaited debut album ‘Holding Out For Horrors’. With a growing fanbase and a reputation for energetic and frenzied live shows, the Dublin five-piece landed themselves support slots with Dublin favourites Delorentos and Manchester darlings The Slow Readers Club. Having toured throughout Ireland and the UK, they are tipped as one of the top acts to see at New York’s Global Music Festival and Conference Mondo NYC.
‘Holding Out For Horrors’ is a magnificent genre-splicing album as Brass Phantoms take their refined musicianship, expressive songwriting and dynamic energy and pour it into an impressive body of work. The album features the band’s singles ‘Hurricane’, ‘City Of Wolves’, ‘Waiting Up’, ‘Indigo’ and recent release ‘What We Leave Behind Us’ which have all been landmarks in the quintets musical growth. Displaying slinky ethereal guitar lines, chiming key progressions, epic melodies and choruses the band present a big lofty sound with weighty lyrics and biting soundscapes. Each track is meticulously layered and deftly crafted to create a thrilling listening experience. With the singles paving the way the band could have slipped in a few weaker and light listens to fill out the track list but that’s not the kind of band Brass Phantoms are. The rest of the album is chock-a-block with big songs of depth and quality.
The Killers – esque ‘Legal Fiction’ thrives on intoxicating guitar lines and atmospheric synths that skillfully blend synth-pop with dark gritty rock; it is a magnificent display of compositional prowess. Ryan Cashell’s vocals have become cinematic, deeper and more distinct than ever as he owns his unique vocal range and expressive emotive scope. He can haunt and chill through a song or mysteriously cast a sinister tone that turns the more instrumentally uplifting tracks ( such as ‘Wood Words’ ) into quite an ominous darker tune. To contrast Cashell’s vocals the band showcase a new facet of Brass Phantoms which we haven’t seen before, a duet with the one and only Colleen Heavey. Her sweet innocent coo’s contrast, blend and add a refreshing light to ‘What We Leave Behind Us’. This kinetic and refined track is a pinnacle moment on the album, showcasing the band’s mature musicianship. They create a richly textured sonic wall of sound exuding tantalising bass grooves which drizzle a funk tone onto the dark synth pop backdrop. A punchy drum foundation and woodblock feature entices the listener while sharp guitar lines weave and tease oozing tension and suspense – an utterly thrilling listening experience.The frantic swirl of ‘Disciples’ reminds us just how dazzling and synth heavy Brass Phantoms can be as they press disco shimmering synths over ominous melodies, and shredding guitar riffs that lament, soar and slice through Adam McCabe’s fluctuant, dead-summoning drums.
Brass Phantoms prove they are quite the dream team, not only does the band have a unique, powerful and charismatic frontman (Ryan Cashell). They also have guitar and bass virtuoso’s in Greg Whelan and James Geraghty and voice of an angel and synth wizard in Colleen Heavey. All this talent is nurtured by McCabe’s hefty dynamic drums which allows each instrument ( guitars, synths, and vocals ) to flourish and shine in prismatic glory. McCabes drums also create the elastic flirtations and ballsy backbone which levitates each song to its epic climax
The sustained dark ecstasy of each song expands as the album progresses. The sultry ‘Something Automatic’ and the blustery elation of ‘Indigo’ are brimming with luscious indie pop melodies consumed in a whirlpool of rich ethereal soundscapes, reinforcing the kinetic adrenaline this band have crafted so meticulously. Even the beautiful and short interlude of ‘Max’s Reprise (We Leave Behind)’ and slow burner ‘Reflection’ which exudes lush harmonies, heartfelt melody and passionate instrumentation, winds the album down without loosing the majestic and impactful punch of its predecessors.
‘Holding Out For Horrors’ is a marvelous, epic collection of synth-rock gems and energetic anthems. For their debut album Brass Phantoms take us on a journey through their own personal experiences while also showcasing their musical growth. Within the album there is enough familiarity and boundary pushing to keep the listener engaged while the darker, thrilling moments keep you hanging on the edge of your seat. Showcasing wonderful blends of synth pop, indie and alternative, ‘Holding Out For Horrors’ is an album to fully indulge in and enjoy over and over again.
Stream ‘Holding Out For Horrors’ below
Author : Danu
layers it’s slick, suave and gritty in all the right places. Their bassist Niall Donnelly exuberantly bounces and hops complete with dramatic poses and playful interactions with drummer Sam Russell which makes for an entertaining performance. Their sound translates sublimely live from shrilling distortion and skull pounding mosh ready frenzy to oh so cool and chilled groovy moments. Their disco flavoured grunge is infectious, it’s foot tapping body movingly delicious. Zac Stephenson’s vocals add a raspy gritty texture that shakes up their luscious sound. With catchy tracks like ‘Hunter Gatherer Blues’ and ‘7am’ on their set list it’s a feverishly danceable set. Your mind might refuse to dance but your body will succumb. ‘Just Can’t Quit’ lets Stephenson’s vocals shine. It’s a slow burner and insanely melodic and passionate, letting MUNKY display a more serious side to their repertoire. It becomes quickly apparent just how talented this four piece are. When you can get the whole room to sing along with you, you know your doing well. Usually it is an “oh ohh” or “woohoo” lyric or something but this quartet got us all singing “We don’t wanna talk about it we just wanna get f*cked” and why not it was catchy. Their guitar licks and riffs were divine and blissfully sharp while the 
baseline elastically slapped rumbled and grooved nimbly. It was a thrilling set exuding fiery passion pounding drums and expressive vocals. So much energy and dynamism with glorious melodies and rich textures poured from these guys along with a few splashes of sweat. The girls left for the final track ‘Bastered Luck’. MUNKY grooved through a sultry smoky rendition of the track. It’s a heavy dark intense chilling end to their set. These guys sent funky disco rock shock-waves around the venue. It was memorable for sure.
their songs. Each track as energetic and intense as the next. Through their nostalgic melancholic melodies they possess an ability to captivate the listener enthralled in the swirling synth and guitar arrangement. Each band members expression and interaction with one another and the crowd adds another dimension from Greg Whelan’s smiley banter to Cashell’s brave jump into the crowd. Adam McCabe’s rapid tireless drumming resounded throughout as his floppy hair joyously kept time. It’s the fiery explosive ‘Disciples’ that truly ignites their set and gets both the band and the audience hyped as the crowd mosh to the heavy chorus. The hollow woodblock knock between the beats for ‘Inferno’ is just mesmerising. The crowd cheer once it starts as they begin to shimmy and dance to its infectious pulse. It’s almost hypnotic. 
‘Waiting Up’ lured in the cheering crowd with its anthemic elevated chorus that most bands could only dream of before the single that called everyone to Whelan’s that night… ‘Indigo’ was played. An immensely powerful performance of ‘Indigo’ proves the vibrant intense power of this band. It’s an energetic mammoth that leaves the crowd thirsty for more as they call for “one more tune!”. Brass Phantoms’ live performance was precisely what the majority of their songs are: vibrant, passionate, punchy and impossible not to enjoy.
(Picture: Olga Kuzmenko)
