Mike True and the Phantom Band - Natural Disaster

​Mike True and the Phantom Band

Natural Disaster
​self-released; 2024

​By ​Dino DiMuro

Singer-songwriter Mike True is a longtime resident of New Orleans as well as leader of the Phantom Band, playing a mixture of rock, folk and Americana. He’s released over 70 original songs and just dropped three new tracks titled Natural Disaster, Good Bad Guy and Can’t Stop the Rain.

True has been performing Americana, pop, rock and country music since the late 1980's. His Phantom Band is a “mythical” assemblage of over 20 artists who come and go at whim. His New Orleans lineup currently includes Phant Will (fiddle), Heath Borne (vocal harmonies/hand percussion), Sam Tepper (keyboards/piano) and Max Sanders (mandolin/guitar). True himself sings and plays rhythm guitar.


“Natural Disaster” establishes an enveloping, almost underwater sound from the first chords. It’s to the Phantom Band’s credit that I can’t quite figure out how the sound was developed, except maybe through some cool guitar effects. At heart, though, this feels like a folk song. True’s vocals have that authentic, hardscrabble Woody Guthrie/John Prine quality. On the surface this song appears to be about our current age of global warming events that seemingly hit on a weekly basis. “Another natural disaster / we all live on shaky ground, what can I say? Best get out the way.” The drums are spare, and there’s some backing strings and chorus harmonies. This is certainly the most amiable song about the global apocalypse I could ever imagine!

“Good Bad Guy” feels more distinctly country, thanks to the pedal steel, mandolin and lonesome acoustic guitar. If that’s Heath Borne on backing vocals, he’s added a ghostly, church choir gravity to the track. True even takes a short whistling solo. Dramatically the story reminds me of Warren Zevon’s obsession with Frank and Jesse James. This song’s a great example of True’s lyrical gifts: “It's hard to live poor​ / In the land of the free he likes keeping score / Thinks he’s some kind of hero / He wants to be a Good Bad Guy / An innocent criminal.” 

“Can’t Stop The Rain” is not a song by Creedence, but instead feels like another rumination on tending land in these chaotic climate times. Again True’s guitar either has a pickup or has been processed for a shimmery, reverb-laden sound. This is the kind of song that feels good to hear and makes you want to sing along, though the slightly minor feel and the sad lyrics make you wonder if you should. True undercuts the mood slightly at the end with this reassuring childhood rhyme: “Rain rain, go away / Come again another day.” There’s also a Caribbean feel with the gradual addition of steel drums.

I loved all three of these songs and totally recommend putting Mike True on your New Discoveries List!

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