Phantom Isle stray from indie art-pop roots for up-tempo new single Mar V

Barrelling through the doom and gloom of 2020 at a blistering 130bpm, Northampton / London new wave quartet Phantom Isle have returned with their new single, Mar V.

Released this week, the track sees the band stray from their psychedelic art-pop indie roots, highlighting their ability to blend genres and moods to great success.

Keyboard player Joshua Pullen, who took the lead with writing the music, said: “The song

started as a remix of our previous single I Am Urs but became a very different beast when I was messing about with a new drum machine I bought.

“I was listening to a lot of Soulwax and Simian Mobile Disco at the time and loved how they would produce songs with a pounding single-note loop throughout."

Phantom Isle are keyboard player Pullen, singer and guitarist Peter Marchant, bassist Jonny Longland and drummer Sam Thorne.

Consisting of hypnotic synth lines, an infectious rhythm and a dark and mysterious atmosphere, Mar V sees Phantom Isle channelling LCD Soundsystem and Hot Chip indie-house influences.

Despite its upbeat and energetic feel, there’s a dark side to the single.

Lyricist and drummer Thorne adds: “The lyrics were actually written about feeling anxious and alone,” comparing that feeling to an old friend that follows you through life, saying “you almost miss

it when you leave it behind”.

In March, Phantom Isle joined Jack Vs Hotdog and Rolling Thunder as the acts representing Northampton at the MaNo-Musikfestival in Marburg, Germany.

Sadly, the impact of the Coronavirus led to Twinfest, which sees bands from Marburg and Poitiers in France heading to Northampton, being cancelled this year.

Speaking about Mar V, Marchant said: “The song pretty much became the soundtrack of MaNo where we headlined in March.”

Mar V is out now via the usual streaming platforms. Phantom Isle photo by Julia Lucas.

For more information, visit www.phantomisle.com