Soft Hearted Scientists
The Phantom Of Canton
A 16 track double album (on one CD, 77 min.) that is loosely speaking a psychedelia infused concept album of sorts, dealing with themes such as alienation, lost love, and the sometimes high personal price of obsessively pursuing creative projects, or indeed any job or calling. However, it is often very upbeat and hopeful, even joyful, and acknowledges that the highs outweigh the lows and that the protagonist wouldn't really have it any other way. Yes there are times of reflecting how life might have been different, but unravelling all life choices is rather pointless. 'The Phantom Of Canton' is universal and is anybody who has felt a sense of identity loss during times of crisis, like a ghost on the sidelines with life passing them by, but also anyone who has then experienced the immense rush of joy felt when things get back on track. Musically this might be the band's most ambitious yet. Even the darker songs are painted in bright colours and infused with an hallucinatory element. Electric and acoustic guitars and a vast range of keyboards and sound effects and sound events illuminate the lyrics. Influences include 1940s big band music, 1950s doo wop and rock and roll, 1960s psychedelia and folk rock, early 1970s prog rock, punk, post punk, electronic music and sound track music. As was said by an astute listener about the last album 'Waltz Of The Weekend,' the pop songs have got more action packed with detail and hooks, and the longer tracks stretch out more than before. It is essential to have several of those quick fix compact pop songs on the album to give the listener an entry point. Then the longer, more abstract tracks make more sense. Not that writing an 11 minute track is necessarily harder than writing a 3 minute 30 second pop song, where not a second can be wasted. In fact the pop songs are often harder to write.