To my recent memory, few musicians have truly captured the spirit of ethereally drawn emotional agony quite as close to the bone as indie songstress Kohli Calhoun.
Calhoun had already snagged my interest earlier this year with her prior single “Take Me Away” and its ability to ruminate on profound emotional discomfort with a Regina Spektor knack for wrapping it in brightly fragile pop. Her latest single “Phantom” takes that concept and walks off down a dark hallway full of whispers with it. The feeling is still familiar, but now its filled with a greater desperation of yearning vocals, swirling synths, heartbeat taps and an ominous tape player slink worthy of a St Vincent track.
The video for “Phantom” brings that internal dissonant chaos to visceral life in the form of a woman moving through a forest with a primal, almost seizured level of intensity. It boils the song down to emotion rather than wordplay, which is where “Phantom” seems truly meant to thrive the most.
If Calhoun’s latest line of music continues to explore the depths of this musical headspace, I look forward to seeing where the rollercoaster of her thought will bend to next. The journey certainly won’t be an easy one, but it is a rare gift on Calhoun’s part not to just sing but to sing with her whole heart poured into every note.
“Phantom” doesn’t just stand out because its a strong single. It stands out because its almost uneasily direct in how it expresses itself. Not because its a Whitney Houston ballad from The Bodyguard and this moment called for something sad. Rather, it breaks down the finer details of what makes that sadness exist in the first place.
And in some way that imperfection, is sometimes the most perfect thing to hear.
Grade: A
For more: Visit kohlicalhounmusic.com
On The Back Edge Of The Beat 
Leave a Reply