PHONY

PHONY—the moniker of Los Angeles-based Neil Berthier—today shares his poignant and aptly named new single “KALEIDOSCOPE,” which creates a world of depth with just a few piano notes, and concludes with an electronic orchestra and vocal feature from Petey (Terrible Records), PHONY’s close friend and high-profile TikToker. Thematically, “KALEIDOSCOPE” finds Berthier grappling with the devastating loss of his father, a common thread throughout the 12 dynamic, genre-bending tracks of his new album AT SOME POINT YOU STOP, due out on July 29th, 2022 via his own PHONY INDUSTRIES label in partnership with Joyful Noise Recordings and Secretly Distribution. Pre-order here.

“This song is about gaining perspective and the importance of looking at things from every angle,” explains Berthier. “I’ve never had a song that was just piano but it was the first thing that came to mind. Petey and I were roommates in college and had always loved each other’s music but never played with each other on a record. I called him up one day and said ‘you wanna sing on this piano song of mine?’ and he said of course. I had everything written already, so we just got bagels then hung at the house for an hour and it was done.”

“KALEIDOSCOPE” follows the album’s lush, muscular lead single “SUMMER’S COLD,” which earned great press from Stereogum, Brooklyn Vegan, Buzzbands.la, and more. PHONY will support Joyce Manor on their summer U.S. tour starting at Denver’s Ogden Theater on August 3rd and including a Brooklyn Steel show on August 12th (Prince Daddy and the Hyena will join Berthier as PHONY's touring band on this run); a full itinerary is listed below.

After losing his father to dementia, moving from Boston to Los Angeles, joining Joyce Manor as an auxiliary guitarist/backing vocalist, and acclimating to the synergy of the zen-yet-rowdy Southern California lifestyle, things were simultaneously devastating and thrilling as Berthier worked on the songs that would become his third solo album, AT SOME POINT YOU STOP. The stark contrast of these monumental life changes prompted him to dig deeper than ever in his music, creating his most vulnerable and compelling work to date. “It’s called PHONY as an oxymoron. I want this to be the most personal, wearing my heart on my sleeve shit that I can possibly come up with,” he says. 

His first album recorded in a proper studio, AT SOME POINT YOU STOP also results from a new artistic process for Berthier. He enlisted producer Chaz Sexton (Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Slipknot) to work with him at Hollywood’s EastWest Studios—the recording home of iconic albums like The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds and Frank Ocean’s Blonde. Sonically, this record’s enthralling power is its ability to spin disparate sounds into a seamless whole. Across AT SOME POINT YOU STOP, fuzzed-out anthems fit for rolling the windows down and taking a long summer drive bleed into heavy, reflective moments—mirroring two turbulent years where feelings of immense grief often clashed with serene and newly invigorating surroundings.

PHONY has been recruited to play shows as a musician in some of the most exciting bands in Southern California (slowcore darlings Milly, Petey, Joyce Manor), but when asked how his involvement in so many prolific acts shapes his solo work, he’s quick to say that it doesn’t, really. However, the talent of a workhorse musician courses through AT SOME POINT YOU STOP, proving his individual chops are nuanced enough to keep up with a full fledged touring outfit. Berthier has spent a good chunk of the past decade perfecting his role as a commanding frontman, and on AT SOME POINT YOU STOP, he’s found his place. With its kaleidoscopic sonics, impassioned lyricism, and massive hooks, AT SOME POINT YOU STOP sees PHONY arrive as an artist to watch in the year to come as he continues to push himself and the rock genre further.