Formed in Edinburgh in 2012 by four school friends, ThePhantoms released their debut EP This Is How It Should Be in December 2013
and followed this up with a short UK tour.
They are influenced by the likes of Kasabian and Simple Minds and are Colin Simpson on guitar and vocals, Colin Mckillop on lead
guitar, Zach Tarimo Goodhur on bass and Blair Cullen on drums. The Phantoms then
released the single Revolution in March 2014 whose anthemic chorus has become a huge favourite with fans.
The follow up single Wasting Time followed, along with
support slots with Catfish and The Bottlemen, Amber Run and Vant. The band started 2016 with a sold out headline show at King
Tuts Wah Wah Hut and now release the new single Lost on 4th April
2016. It's available to pre-order now on this link: The Phantoms - Lost on i-tunes They've filmed a video out in the wilds of Scotland to match the anthemic, atmospheric nature of the track. The Phantoms trademark driving guitar riffs are now finely honed and come to the fore in this latest offering. They've come a long way in the last three years since they played the Ralph's Life CD gig in Edinburgh's Electric Circus and 2016 is looking to be the start of something big for this ambitious young band.
Now Ralph's devotion to the unsigned UK Indie music scene is undisputed however every now and again something comes along that you just can't resist. That something is the release of the debut EP 'Find Desire' by Belgian band Starkeeper with the stunning animated video for the lead track 'Elle' produced by the hugely talented young Lithuanian artist Arnoldus Viktus (go take a look).
Whilst their sound can be called 'Europop' their appeal transcends the usual 'same ole same ole' electro-pap that can sometimes make it difficult for European bands to translate into the UK scene. Strong songwriting and Ivy's lush vocals accompanied by a more rounded electronic sound make them highly listenable in the vein of the Cocteau Twins or Slowdive. The album is available for download on i-tunes and having had a sneak peek at the rest of the tracks I can highly recommend it (especially the Kelvin re-mix of 'Something Never Seen') for your i-pod listening pleasure. Let's also hope that if sales in the UK take off they'll be heading over the Channel for a tour soon!
Now Ralph does his best to write about and support unsigned bands but seeing as it's nearly Crimble he's decided to indulge himself and take a look at a little known combo he personally likes called Fun Lovin' Criminals. OK, OK it's just Ralph's little joke, but seeing as it is Christmas, Huey did a bit of busking (he raised £131.67) for the Help For Heroes 'charidee' in London recently and it's being followed up with a release by Huey and the New Yorkers of the single 'Christmas By The Side Of The Road'. All proceeds from the single will go to the charity and it can be pre-ordered on iTunes from this link.....click here.
Now I did mention Fun Lovin' Criminals earler and it would be unfair not to mention the Live album of which there's a very nice interactive picture above with all kinds of interesting stuff to click on.....go buy the album it's a Fun Lovin' Fest...and anyway...how could Ralph not love a band with a song called 'Scooby Snacks'!
