ALT TITLE: "Dream-pop Girls"

Way back in 2020, the Phantom Handshakes put out a song called “Aisha (Vs the Dirty Tongues)” which just from the title alone sounds like it should be a rock opera. And it’s not just the title because the song’s dramatic, moody music is likewise suited to the stage and would likely appeal to the youth of today since they don’t yet have a rock opera to call their own. Anyway I’d say the time has finally come for a shoegaze/dream pop takeover of Broadway and the West End.



The newest release by the Phantom Handshakes entitled No More Summer Songs could be the album to break the impasse and tap the potential for a dream pop rock opera if somebody could just find the next Mr. Lin-Manuel Miranda and get him or her to write a staged adaptation. I mean just listen to “Cricket Songs” and it’s inner monologue describing the protagonist’s heightened sense of perception in the midst of a summer heatwave complete with bedroom dancing and sweaty sheets and overemotive mothers and drifting off to the sound of chirping crickets. It’s pretty evocative stuff and so is the video above.


The album’s opening track “I Worried” would make a perfect overture with its ghostly echoes looking back at past misspent summers (that’s my take on it anyway) which would serve as a perfect framing device for the musical, and then the next song “No Better Plan” would be the crossover crowd-pleaser with its wordless catchy yet slightly taunting “Nya Na Na” refrain which should translate well to foreign markets.



The song captures a doomed-yet-determined forlornness but with a sunny/boppy melody and beat (sidenote: the aforementioned hit song from Hamilton also has a “Na Na Na” refrain) with lyrics about “building sandcastles despite the wind” which is essentially what King George does in Hamilton. 

P.S. I’ll gratefully accept a producer co-credit and a modest percentage of the gross box office if this idea comes to fruition. But if it turns out to be the next Moose Murders just remember you didn’t hear any of this from me.

Alternative indie pop rockers herMajesty new track “Weightless” (streaming below) is a mid-tempo rocker that pairs layered guitar hooks and bright synths with a distinct driving backbeat. Band visionary JP is given open space for his soft-sandpapery vocals and vivid lyrical poetry.  Lyrics like “Let the colors and the scent settle on your skin - let the yellow lilac and the brooding rose pull you in this violet dream” create visually dramatic moments underscored by plucking piano and alternating synth notes. The chorus reveals the need to rise above a “concrete wall” and the limitations we place on ourselves, to become “weightless.” Written over a four year span and recorded in numerous cities, this single and the band's upcoming album was mixed by Giovanni Nicoletta in Berlin. To celebrate its release, they will play an early show at Mercury Lounge on 2/28 with The Goodnight Darlings. - Dave Cromwell

Parquet Court's frontman Andrew Savage has always drawn on influences from the South, but now he’s using his new solo project A. Savage to turn up the Western heat. While Parquet Court made use of twangy guitars and Savage's rough, cowboy-like vocals, his upcoming solo album Thawing Dawn uses pointed track titles like "Buffalo Calf Road Woman" and "Wild Wild Horses" to send a clearly Western, nostalgic image. The first single "Winter in the South" (streaming below) retains the mystery of Parquet Court, but is also more organic, rumbling, and lonesome. Texas tour dates begin this week and Thawing Dawn will be out on October 13th. - Allie Miller