The Phantom Family Halo is an American

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from Louisville in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

notable for music described as having a "post-metal state of ungodly loudness" while managing to achieve a "neat creepy B-movie horror feel." The six-member band, currently based in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, has performed with bands such as Black Angels, Black Mountain,

Dead Meadow Dead Meadow is an American psychedelic rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1998 and currently composed of vocalist and guitarist Jason Simon, bassist Steve Kille, and drummer Mark Laughlin. The band have released seven studio albums, two liv ...

, USAisamonster, Hawkwind,

Slint Slint was an American rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1986. The band consisted of guitarist and vocalist Brian McMahan, guitarist David Pajo, drummer and vocalist Britt Walford, Todd Brashear (bassist on ''Spiderland''), and Etha ...

, Damo Suzuki, Acid Mothers Guru Guru, Stormtrippers,

Russian Circles Russian Circles is an American instrumental band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was originally formed by childhood friends Mike Sullivan and Dave Turncrantz after their previous musical projects dissolved. After parting ways with their ori ...

, Young Widows, Sapat,

The For Carnation The For Carnation are a slowcore/post-rock band from Louisville, Kentucky, formed in 1994. The band was formed by Brian McMahan, who is the only constant group member. McMahan's previous band Slint hinted at the distinctive sound and sombre aesth ...

, and

Bonnie "Prince" Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

. The band signed a recording contract with Knitting Factory Records in 2011.

Louisville beginnings

Band members include Michael McMahan, who also plays with the Louisville band

, and Dominic Cipolla of Sapat. They frequently collaborated with other musicians active in the Louisville music scene. In 2009, the group released a double LP entitled ''Monoliths & These Flowers Never Die'' on Karate Body Records. In 2010, the band performed in Louisville's '' Cropped Out Festival''. A report in ''Twin Cities Music'' in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

described one of the band's live performances: Band member Cipolla described his relation to music: In 2011 the band recorded songs with

Bonnie Prince Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

and included them on their album ''The Mindeater''. The release date for ''Mindeater'' was set for September 27, 2011.

Music reviews

A review in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' described the band as a "new heavy psych band" which "dwells in a post-metal state of ungodly loudness," and compared their music to Tonys McPhee and Iommi. ''Prefix Magazine'' described the upcoming ''Mindeater'' album as "spooked-out country" similar to the

Palace Brothers Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Flophouse, Palace Br ...

using a "downcast slide guitar motif" with singing described as a "cracked vocal delivery" which was "mired in murky lo-fi production values." Reviewer Nick Neyland added that one song has a "neat creepy B-movie horror feel." A review by John Zeiss in ''Prefix Magazine'' described the band's sound as

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

and compared it to bands such as Scott Walker and

13th Floor Elevators The 13th Floor Elevators was an American rock band from Austin, Texas, United States, formed by guitarist and vocalist Roky Erickson, electric jug player Tommy Hall, and guitarist Stacy Sutherland. The band was together from 1965 to 1969, a ...

. Reviewer Joel Hunt described the band as "inventive." A review in ''Brooklyn Rocks'' described the 2LP ''Monoliths & These Flowers Never Die'' as a "brain-melting slab of acid rock" similar to Hawkwind and Spacemen 3.

Discography

* "Raven Town Witch" (Sophomore Lounge Records) 2014 * "Francis Jewel Don't Be Afraid Of The Jungle" (Galtta Media) 2013 * "When I Fall Out" Knitting Factory Records 2011 * ''The Mindeater'' (with Bonnie 'Prince' Billy)(vinyl on Sophomore Lounge Records, CD and digital on Knitting Factory Records) 2011 * ''Music From Italian TV'' (Sophomore Lounge Records) 2010 * ''Hurricane Fighter Plane'' split 7inch /Meah (Sophomore Lounge Records) 2009 * ''Monoliths & These Flowers Never Die'', 2009, Karate Body Records * ''The Legend Of Black Six'' (blackvelvetfuckeree records) 2006

References

External links

Knitting Factory Records website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Phantom Family Halo American experimental musical groups American psychedelic rock music groups Indie rock musical groups from Kentucky Musical groups from Louisville, Kentucky 2007 establishments in Kentucky