Raise the Dead

Phantom Planet claim their fourth full-length was inspired by the music of Charles Manson and David Koresh — not quite the album you'd expect from the California boys who sang The O.C.'s theme song. Still, like those cult leaders, Raise the Dead gives its macabre subjects (and its lighter ones) an oddly upbeat spin. Jumping from Bowie glam to disco punk, the band tosses in synths, arch backing coos and riffing saxes for songs that are both expansive and strange. "Leader," which is literally about joining a cult, comes complete with lines like "Everyone will be reborn" and a sunny chorus. Elsewhere, frontman Alex Greenwald sings about disease and severed heads, but the tunes still push pleasure buttons. Dig the raucous "Ship Lost at Sea," or the title track, which sounds like the best Strokes song in years. ...
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