Andy Bull - The PhantomPains

Wed 13th Oct, 2010 in Music Reviews

It’s been roughly a year since Sydney-sider Andy Bull’s debut record We’re Too Young hit store shelves. The weeks that followed were an undoubtedly confounding experience for any pop enthusiast. It was obvious that a distinct lilt coupled with a prevailing knack for a memorable pop hook could have lit the fuse for Bull, signifying the explosion of a new talent. At least that’s what made sense. But songs such as Young Man and Small Town fell, rather remarkably so, on deaf ears.

Fortunately, Bull has returned and has produced another brilliant offering that again threatens to score due recognition. The EP, titled The Phantom Pains signifies a sonic evolution for the singer-songwriter, building well upon the keyed sensibilities and foundations laid throughout his debut. It’s a cliche, certainly, but Bull has matured into an impressively intricate artist, his new compositions bristling with life like a Catherine wheel firework.

The instrumentation ultimately paves the way for a welcomed thematic shift. Bull explains, “I am discovering, perversely, the joy in articulating that ever-present emotional darkness.” The EP’s first track, Dog, does well to confirm as much. The introduction to The Phantom Pains proves an angst-ridden carousel depicting a persistent emotional rut, pedaled onward with the help lumbering pianos and organs. Songstress Lisa Mitchell features throughout the song, a sweet cameo in what becomes a display of Bull’s unique pop wit.

Last Waltz features the Brisvegas boys Hungry Kids Of Hungary and shifts the tempo, resembling a dreamy, joyous roadtrip. Meanwhile, the title track excels in twisting, turning and evolving, defying convention. It’s the one song on the EP that at once seems poised to disappoint – predictable and, perhaps disposable – but Bull turns everything you’ve heard on it’s head before arriving at a crashing, impassioned close.

My Street is an outstanding addition to the EP, detailing Bull’s discovery that an adversary has moved to a house only minutes from his own. It’s a blunt lament, an emotional conundrum detailed and executed with admirable restraint and one genuinely feels for Bull if the poetry were formed from personal experience. From there, the sensational retro-chic of Nothing To Lose and the emphatic Work Is A Slow Way To Die bring the release to its conclusion in spectacular fashion.

The Phantom Pains EP is, without question, both an enormously enjoyable evolution for the singer-songwriter and a sign that the best from Bull is on its way. The man still writes a mean pop song, wielding melody effortlessly in a show of uncanny singer-songwriter flare, again demonstrating Bull’s talents appropriately, but the game has changed – and for the better. Predictably, The Phantom Pains EP proves a starter, a delicious morsel of those musical delicacies to come. Highly recommended.