- Record Label: Tummy Touch Records
- Release Date: Feb 14, 2012
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Apr 5, 2012Form & Control exhibits a duality that splits the difference in the disparity of the Clap's soulful psych-pop/dance club fusion.
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Mar 15, 2012Form & Control immediately shows the band's strengths and their weakness: It's a smooth, utterly precise study of the formal elements that make disco and electro-pop tick, but with far too little of the body heat that actually gets that stuff going.
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Mar 2, 2012Phenomenal Handclap Band have created an extraordinary record, an accumulation of countless styles and eras of music that at times works impeccably. But too often it just a little too frenzied to adore.
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Feb 21, 2012As sophomore efforts go, Form & Control is a great success.... Unfortunately, what it lacks are hooks.
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Feb 14, 2012Their second album has a cosmic disco groove ('The Following'), thought-out harmonies ('The Unknown Faces at Father James Park') and electro- pop moments ('The Right One'), creating the kind of warm glow you may get from a house party in a log cabin.
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Feb 14, 2012Form & Control's only real highlight is its title track... But when it's surrounded by so much dross, it's hardly redeeming, and getting loaded may well be the only way to endure the rest of this tripe.
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Feb 13, 2012The second album from the Phenomenal Handclap Band may not contain anything as exciting or danceable as the highlights of their debut but, despite its disappointments, there is still plenty on Form & Control for anyone who enjoyed their debut to appreciate.
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Feb 13, 2012Ultimately, Form & Control serves it purpose as a ready-made playlist for your next party, but perhaps the band's oversimplifying of its sound has stripped away some of its mystique in the process.
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Feb 10, 2012Form And Control is a pleasant enough offering, but there's nothing phenomenal on show here.
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Feb 9, 2012While 'The Written Word' and the title track are bonanzas for fans of arm-waving disco-house, the "control" element of the title is present all the way through, and the songs never quite transcend the feeling they're a bit too school for cool.
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Feb 1, 2012Laura Marin and Quinn Luke cram excessive lyrics into songs such as 'Shake', creating stodge instead of sleekness.
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Jan 30, 2012The Phenomenal Handclap Band return with its sophomore release, Form & Control, which feels more centered, yet as retro as ever.
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Jan 26, 2012Too often, it's elevator-funk, waiting room disco.
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Jan 26, 2012The drumming that helps ground it all is elastic and malleable, making this follow-up a more successful and well-rounded album that seems to be just the beginning of something really good.
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Q MagazineJan 30, 2012If there had been a disco episode of Star Trek, then Phenomenal Handclap Band would have provided the go-to floor-fillers. [Feb 2012, p. 109]
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Under The RadarJan 30, 2012PHB are equally comfortable with light rocking as they are heavy popping. [#39, p.75]
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UncutJan 26, 2012All and all, it's a little too cool for its own good. [Feb 2012, p.97]