"Phantom in the Breeze" is a devastatingly effective initiation into this album's journey and one of its strongest offerings; it has it all, the heavy rock through line, the electronic embellishments and counterpoints, the poetic lyrics of spiritual quest, the moments of beauty. That initial hook is so strong, so visceral, and then you immediately establish the synthesizer in and around it, almost like another voice, itself evocative of the phantom. Carl's wailing guitar is just astonishing, pulsing through the whole song, jumping up and down its scales with such robust and supple fluidity. And the thematic progression speaks to me profoundly, the intimations we have of whole divine truth as children, the struggles as we evolve through life to grab hold of that, the various constructs we're offered to fill that space, our digressions into transgression in our seeking of spiritual substance, and ultimately our own responsibility in creating it ourselves, becoming ourselves the phantoms. This song closely aligns, as you may increasingly understand, with some of my own thoughts and expressions on the subject, especially the beautiful lines "every resurrection is the world without the end," and "every new direction is the place where you begin," which I admire deeply. This song reminds me of Bold Enough To Say, in both sound and subject, though a little more acid, a little darker, as befits the freer format. I also appreciate the humor, laughed out loud the first time I heard "the dogma and the karma hit the fan." - Ethan

Written and Produced by Billy Webster
Lead Guitar by Carl Basler
Recorded at The Jersey Dream
(c) Shampoo Girl Music, 2018