“Nightlife is kind of an extension of the whole process of making and touring behind Eyelid Movies, and it feels in a lot of ways like the completion of what we were doing with the songs on that album,” says Carter, adding that “the two [records] really go together in our minds. Nightlife couldn’t have been written anywhere other than in clubs and hotel rooms during this experience we’ve been having for the last year or two.”

Although the lyrical and sonic themes of the new recordings are in keeping with those of the previous album, Barthel notes “It’s just amazing how much our lives have changed in such a short period of time, and how all that change has made us able to focus in on what we want to be doing musically. We’re really excited about these new songs, especially playing them live, and Nightlife has definitely pushed the energy of the band back into that great feeling of working on making something new.”

In the whirlwind year and a half following the release of Eyelid Movies, Phantogram (along with touring drummer Tim Oakley) have been on the road almost constantly, building a well-deserved reputation as a tremendous live band. They’ve grown from supporting diverse tours with early supporters like The xx, The Antlers, and Minus the Bear to playing nearly every major North American festival (Coachella, Outside Lands, Sasquatch, Treasure Island, Lollapallooza, Bumbershoot, and others) to regularly headlining sold-out shows on their own. Along the way, they’ve stopped for appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live! and drawn praise from audiences, critics, and fellow musicians from ?uestlove to Fitz and the Tantrums, from Kings of Leon to Big Boi.