The 11 tracks on Phantogram’s debut album, “Eyelid Movies,” already show a band — a duo, actually — with a wealth of ideas. From techno-soul to post-punk song structures, from ballads to half-sung rap, Josh Carter and Sarah Barthel, surround their music with a mix of down-tempo beats, thick guitar riffs and sometimes ethereal/sometimes menacing synths. A teeny-weeny little bit of Portishead, yes, but the group is funkier, cooler and, well, more East Coast … Saratoga Springs, N.Y. to be exact. They make it all the way cross-country this weekend to treat Goleta and the Mercury Lounge to their ghostly effects.
Indeed, ghostly effects are why “Phantogram” is such an appropriate name for the group, and much better than their first choice, Charlie Everywhere, which they had until signing with Barsuk Records.