Phantom Tollbooth

Phantom Tollbooth emerged in 1984 as a New York trio devoted to post-punk and noise rock, fronted by Dave Rick, who had previously played in Yo La Tengo. Gerard Smith played bass and Jon Coats handled drums. Homestead Records issued the band’s two EPs—the self-titled Phantom Tollbooth EP in 1986 and Daylight in the Quiet Zone EP in 1990—plus its two full-length albums, One-Way Conversation in 1987 and Power Toy in 1988. The trio’s forceful strain of noisy art rock has invited comparisons to Fred Frith, and Rick regularly contributed to fellow New York projects Bongwater and B.A.L.L. After the group dissolved in 1988, Rick joined King Missile, Coats became a member of Canartic, and Smith aligned with Darling Nerves. In 2003 Robert Pollard revisited the Tollbooth aesthetic by reworking the lyrics and melodies of Power Toy into his own album, Beard of Lightning.