Energy Boost With The Phantom Four & The Arguido

You may have read my review for the album from The Phantom Four & The Arguido. I got to see them without The Arguido as singer Rudeboy calls himself for this occasion. I got to see lead guitar player Frank Gerritsen aka Phantom Frank with The Arguido in an acoustic setting. But the ultimate combination is the whole bunch together. And that was finally gonna happen on one of Amsterdam's nicest squares De Nieuwmarkt that hosts the annual April celebrations days ahead of our national holiday Queen's Day. The Phantom Four & The Arguido at De Nieuwmarkt Amsterdam, April 27 2012

Before they start playing Phantom Frank announces they will play one set with Rudeboy and one set without him. They do start with the opening track 'The Arguido' which is instrumental as well. This gives Rudeboy the time to prepare and pump himself up. He jumps to the mic and fiercely starts singing in his usual way: somewhere in between singing and rapping. You can see this fires up the rest of the band as well and of course the crowd. In between songs he needs to grease his throat with some tea. Many years of touring with the Urban Dance Squad has taken its toll. Nevertheless his vocals are strong and the songs even sound more energized than on the album. Then it's time for The Arguido to take his well earned break and the band continues without him, the way their original line-up is. You can hear that without vocals they get more room to play their parts. These instrumental songs are more heavy on surfrock with Frank's great lead guitar riffs and solos. By now they already have won the crowd over and a pit has formed in front of the stage. This is pleasing the band and it's obvious they are enjoying themselves a lot. For the encore Rudeboy is invited back to the stage. With a ferocious The Ramones cover 'Havana Affair' it's game, set and match.

Official Website | MySpace | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify Read more!

The Phantom Four Mix Well With The Arguido

The Phantom Four is the surf band that emerged after Phantom Frank aka Frank Gerritsen's The Treble Spankers ended due to a stubborn injury. They invited Patrick Tilon aka Rudeboy, who we all know from Urban Dance Squad, to see one of their live shows. He was very impressed and they decided to hook up for some songs. The live gigs included Rudeboy as guest singer more and more and now there's a full album. Even better there's one with Rudeboy, or The Arguido as he calls himself here. Even better it's a double CD! One featuring The Arguido, 'Sounds From The Obscure' and one instrumental one without him, 'Morgana'.


The Phantom Four & The Arguido - Sounds From The Obscure/Morgana (Ronald Says 8 out of 10)
And from the first tones of Sounds From The Obscure you find yourself in a movie. Maybe a Tarantino movie, maybe a western. Exciting guitar songs that make you want to move. When Rudeboy kicks in, the songs get more body and sound more aggressive. And it's not hard to imagine the excitement when they experienced this themselves. It's a perfect match. Listen to the fierce 'Settle Down' that grabs you by the throat and won't let go. Or the very catchy and great 'Gun On My Temple' with a playful guitar riff and solid dirty groove. This album has even twelve of those beauties and not a bad one among them. Before you know it the album goes out with its final blow 'The Guestlist'.

So the other disc 'Morgana' is just a nice bonus right? Wrong! It's a great album by itself with cheerful surf songs. No wonder Rudeboy was so impressed by this band. Their songs are full of energy, impressive guitar playing and lots of creativity. Original songs like 'Belly Dance #6' which has, not surprisingly, some exotic elements. Or 'A Forest', a surfer's ode to The Cure, and title track 'Morgana' are just simply a feast to listen to.

I can only think of one thing that would make them sound even better: a live performance. I haven't got the chance yet, but will make sure I will catch them soon. Make sure you do too and don't forget to get this album. In the meantime: surf's up!

This review has been published on ROAR E-Zine in Dutch over here.


Listen to 'Sounds From The Obscure' on Spotify.

Official Website | MySpace | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Spotify

Read more!