
AWOLNATION – The Phantom Five
It’s the most modern music composers that first feel when the winds are about to change courses for everyone’s ships. It is these innovators who must have the courage to be the first to change. Their story is one of constant seeking of what is new, of the stories that haven’t quite been told in the way that they’re about to tell it.
We all imagine music producers and record label talent scouts fretting about finding “the next big thing.” With so many examples, starting all the way with The Beatles, we’re also able to imagine them failing. Great, brand-new sounds pop up all the time. But, this is because the things that record personnel are seeking are exactly the same that audiences want – something surprising.
AWOLNATION’s brand of hard-edged alt-rock and electronica was something of a revelation upon Aaron Bruno’s first releases. It captured something powerful weighty, but also cutting-edge for the the time and, usually, which had absorbed plenty of emotion.
On “The Phantom Five,” AWOLNATION aka Aaron, needs to find a way to take things full circle while also remaining ahead of the pack when it comes to electro-rock innovation. It’s quite the balancing act. But such is the price for this kind of success.
AWOLNATION’s Farewell Note?
Album opener, “Jump Sit Stand March,” featuring Emily Armstrong (Dead Sara/Linkin Park), is a song about overstimulation and our collective imprisonment in the virtual world.
Meanwhile, “Party People” may sound like hard-edged disco-rock, but there are hints of regret and even irony in this anthem to freedom. “Bang Your Head” includes distorted lead guitars along the danceable grooves and lyrics dealing with the unsatisfying nature of success.
On these songs, especially AWOLNATION, leans into the things that made the project sound like a success. This is, essentially, alternative rock constructed for audiences wanting to dance to tunes that don’t specifically remind them of the 1990s.
The flow of the lyrics always fits the music. But the words, like the best grunge songs, play out like recorded therapy sessions. These are not vapid pop songs, even when Aaron is clever enough to disguise them.
Lastly, just like the great alt-rock and alternative metal bands of the 90s and 2000s, AWOLNATION mastered the concept of tension and release. All of the projects’ rocking pop songs create expectations and deliver a fitting conclusion. It’s no wonder so many of them have been hits.

The AWOLNATION Sound
But “The Phantom Five” is also about finding a conclusion to the journey previous albums have taken listeners on. The pressures of global success have meant that Aaron Bruno has learned a thing or two, not just about what audiences need, but about what they want from a set of songs.
“Panoramic View” is a tender pop ballad in which the songwriter tells the object of their affection that they still “believe in magic.” “A Letter to No One” is a catchy, albeit nostalgia-afflicted song about love affairs and friendships that have been won and lost.
Meanwhile, “When I Was Young”, with its nu-disco beat could easily satisfy the needs of Mediterranean dance clubs for a few Summer seasons to come. AWOLNATION has always been a therapy through dance.
There’s enough time for the songwriter to get honest and speak directly to his sizeable audience. For this, AWOLNATION sheds the rock guitars and dance beats. “Barbarian” and, especially, album closer “Outta Here” allow Aaron to take stock of all that’s happened since the project’s 2011 debut and to ensure those who have been along for the ride that everything that the multi-instrumentalist had to pour into the music, he did.
