SINGLE REVIEW: Phantom Lane – Bodybag Couture

A Celtic union of Wales’ Theodore Swaddling and Northern Ireland’s Billy Keen, Phantom Lane emerged from the darkness in October 2025, with their debut single, ‘The Pleasure in Pain’. The self-described “haunted house metalcore” outfit keep their presence feeling enigmatic, with a notable silence on social media outside of music, and a carefully considered visual presentation. It is easily enough to get you intrigued, but it means nothing without the musical chops to back it up; does their brand new single, ‘Bodybag Couture’, meet the standards the band have set for themselves in all other aspects?

In short; yes. In slightly longer: fuck yes, because good fucking god, this is alternative music brilliance. Vicious discordance stabs forwards at the listener repeatedly beneath searing screamed vocals, ripping the track open in a claustrophobic display of violence. Then, with a devilishly theatrical flair, the track explodes outwards with utterly immense choruses that see captivating melodies backed by spellbinding harmonies.

A dramatic bridge, punctuated by gothic piano work, gives way to a return to that initial discordance, now utilised as an electrifying, pummelling breakdown. Not once across the span of this nightmarish rollercoaster of a track is momentum lost; moments of ethereal sparseness ready the listener for plunges into abyssal aggression, all commandeered by a vocal performance that one could expect from the emo greats. There’s no escaping, but frankly, you wouldn’t want there to be.

Only two tracks deep, and Phantom Lane immediately feel special. A focused aesthetic and an enigmatic sense of character grabs your attention, certainly, but even stripping all of that away, this is simply phenomenal post-hardcore. It feels urgently vital to behold, and brilliantly bewitching in every manner. Few things are as rare and as exciting as falling in love with a band at the very start of their career; Phantom Lane make the process effortless.

For Fans Of: Static Dress, The Throwaway Scene, Motionless In White, Underoath,

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