LISTEN: Big Boi & Phantogram turn it up with "Lights On"

OutKast heavyweight Big Boi, and electro-indie duo Phantogram recently announced that they’ve officially joined forces for a new project called Big Grams. The whole thing comes out this Friday September 25, but they’ve unleashed another single to tantalise our ears until then. It follows on from the recently released Fell In The Sun.

As you might expect, it’s an interesting blend of hip hop and female-fronted electro-pop. These days we usually see electronic and hip hop coming together on heavier styles like trap, and it’s generally a lot more aggressive than this. Lights On, more even than Fell In The Sun, heavily focuses on the electro-pop side of things, with a Big Boi verse wedged in between the angelic melody, courtesy of vocalist Sarah Barthel, and the big Chvrches-esque singalong chorus. While the indie melody admittedly heads toward a top-heavy place, the thumping bass anchors the soundscape down, rounding it out nicely.

To briefly opine, I’m not as taken away by Lights On as I thought I’d be, but that may mostly be because it feels more like a Phantogram ft. Big Boi track than a real joint effort. That said, I loved Fell In The Sun, and I have high hopes for the rest. We still haven’t hear the Skrillex and Run The Jewels-featuring numbers, after all.

Anyway, we’ll get to see how it all pans out this Friday.