The new record from the Brooklyn shoegaze band is “a reckoning, a coming to terms and a celebration of life’s paths, hopes, dreams and fears”
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This Friday marks ~373 days since I’ve been to a real show.
Like absolutely everyone, there are so many things—the amazing and even the inconvenient—that I so desperately miss: sweat, singalongs, beer showers, bathroom lines, joining dance parties and fleeing mosh pits… ATM fees and nice set, dudes and tequila shots preceded by the casual licking of un-sanitized skin and proceeded by the aggressive sucking of questionable citrus…
Plus, a new one I just realized this morning: the sweet, sweet tops of strangers’ heads.
Along with the rowdier moments outlined above, I’m craving those evenings at shows spent almost stationary, completely enveloped in sound (instead of just my weighted blanket). Eyes closed, soaking music, lightly drumming along with fingers on the side of a bottle or can (that didn’t come from my fridge five feet away). Being one of a crowd in which every individual is completely immersed, enjoying a totally unique, personal moment as part of a collective emotional experience (that isn’t taking place on a screen).
Now, nostalgia aside, I am an optimist; I know we’ll get back. And the exact second that real shows are once again a real possibility, the sounds in which I most want to be swaddled in first are those of Brooklyn’s Phantom Wave, whose absolutely killer album Wilds I’m thrilled to premiere here!
I first got hooked on Phantom Wave via “Anterograde” in 2020, and the shoegaze band has delivered on the powerful sonic promise offered by that track (+ the singles that followed: “Billow,” “Glower” and “Depth Charge”) x12, reaching new heights with their debut full-length.
Ahead of the release, Rachel and Ian, the core members of the group, sent over the following description of Wilds via email:
“Wilds is a reckoning, a coming to terms and a celebration of life’s paths, hopes, dreams and fears. Listeners will dive into the ethereal dreams and pearly abstractions that Phantom Wave creates, only to be hit by guitars falling heavy, bringing them back down to reality. This overarching theme to the record embraces the broadness of concept. ‘They want us to get lost in the music, and if we feel so whimsically inclined, go deeper once we’re hooked.'”
If there was one thing 2020 offered, it was a hardcore reckoning. And if there’s one thing 2021 guarantees, it’s a cause for serious celebration—
Wilds is out everywhere now. Can’t wait to see you… and the top of your head… at the (eventual) show.
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Follow Phantom Wave at @phantomwaveband , buy their music on Bandcamp and add them to your Spotify playlists now!
Feature image provided by the band.