The new track by Nashville's Philary is nasty, syrupy, and overall delicious.
The genre title 'sludgegaze' might sound far-fetched, but Philary have made it an awesome reality. The project of Alex Molini (also known for his work in indie and hardcore acts like Pile and Jackal Onasis), Philary sound like a place where Weezer and Celtic Frost collide, creating music that grinds and oozes as much as it leaps and shimmers. Over menacing basslines and panicked tremolo picking, Alex sings pop-flavored hooks about being anxious, overwhelmed, and different in a world that's already stupid weird. The band's new album, I Complain, channels this off putting quality in its art and title alone.
The band's new single, Old Leg, overflows with this unique flavor. The track opens with a lead-shoed pace and a bass that sounds like strep throat, only to suddenly erupt in sunny, melancholic vocals, building into a bright and poppy chorus that channels adolescent hope and mature sadness. It's the type of song that listeners will immediately love, but will have an extremely hard time describing. Necro-pop? Worrycore? Whatever this is, it's incredibly fun to listen to, and makes you feel both malevolent and innocent at the same time.
According to Alex, the experience behind the song connects with that strange dichotomy: "I went to my grandmas funeral in 2017 and the whole experience was both sad and inspiring. I’ve always looked up to her my whole life even though we didn’t see eye to eye with religion and politics. But regardless of my large extended family’s differing political views, she was the main force with creating a family culture of being a critical thinkers and deeply caring about one another.”
Check out Old Leg below:
Here's the cover art for I Complain:
Philary's awesome I Complain comes out 6/28 on Exploding Sound Records, but it's already available for preorder.
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