Tuesday 7/14: PHONY—"Waffle House"
Today, we share our thoughts on a new single from the Chicago indie project PHONY.
Welcome to Endless Scroll, the brainchild of Eli Enis (he/him) and Eric Bennett (they/them). Since Feb. 2019, we’ve been a weekly podcast about music, the internet, and where those two things intersect. Now we’re, also a M-F newsletter about songs. Our format is simple: a link to a song and a short take from each of us about what we think of it. Each day of the week has a corresponding genre: Monday is indie, Tuesday is punk, Wednesday is hip-hop, Thursday is pop, and Friday is misc.
Today, we share our thoughts on a new single from the Chicago indie project PHONY.
PHONY—"Waffle House"
Eli Enis:
I was first introduced to Neil Berthier’s work in his old band Donovan Wolfington, who were sort of a band’s band from the mid-2010’s that never quite broke out of the emo scene they only kind of fit into in the first place. Their sound drifted between punk, shoegaze, hardcore, sludge, power-pop, and more, and Berthier was the yelly of the two singers. On “Waffle House”, the latest single from his solo project PHONY, there is no yelling: the track is a hypnotic indie-rock tune that swirls around sleepily while Berthier mutters softly atop it all. There’s an accordion-like synth effect during the hook that adds a speck of playfulness (and the video is ridiculous), but this is a decidedly downtrodden and lowkey departure from the ferocious D-Wolf. It works, though. Berthier knows how to write a damn fine rock song, in almost any genre.
Eric Bennett:
“Waffle House”, the first single from PHONY’s upcoming Knock Yourself Out, kicks the rollout off with a slow burner. I kept picturing Neil Berthier, who started the project in 2016, singing with his head hung low. The lyrics find him trying his best, but still coming up short. Then, after it clicked (oh, duh, that's why they call it shoegaze) I found myself taken with this bleary mix of hushed vocals coating the mix, and early Alex G-esque basslines weaving throughout. Much of Berthier’s work in PHONY has more punch, but the washed-out tone of “Waffle House” is even more enticing. The track is totally mesmerizing and short enough to throw on repeat for a while.