Five months after our recent End Of The Year / Best Records Of 2021 Special, we once again welcome our German guests from melodic post hardcore band PHANTOM BAY, who are about to release their self-titled debut album on April 22nd on KROD Records! The band has made a list of 10 albums that influenced the record and we’re thrilled to share it with you as a proper teaser for the record release this Friday.
Pairing hardcore punk with melodic hooks, Bremen-based Phantom Bay feature members previously active in New Native, the Deadnotes, and Casually Dressed. Their debut album comes out next week and you can pre-order a limited vinyl copy HERE. The first single “Trembling World” and the band’s new music video for “No One Likes” can be viewed below.
“Hardcore punk but not hectic. Emotional and melodic but not overly cheesy. A perfect mix. I’m thrilled that we now have such a band in our broad grades and I’m looking forward to putting them in live.” Away From Life
1o Records That Inspired Phantom Bay:
Ceremony – Rohnert Park
Ceremony was the last band I saw live before the pandemic. I like all their records, but “Rohnert Park” is their most coherent work to me. We got our band name from the song “The Doldrums”.
Ages – Sleep on It
A now defunct band from Cleveland, Ohio whose bass player now sings in Heart Attack Man. They only put out one LP and two EPs (I think). “Sleep on It” is their debut LP, and it’s impressingly catchy, original, and energetic. When we started Phantom Bay, that’s what we wanted to sound like.
XFilesX – Excruciation
One of my favorite hardcore bands. It’s simple, straightforward, and sloppily played at times. The singer’s voice is my favorite part.
Transit – Keep This To Yourself
Tim Landers’ (main guitarist, R.I.P.) guitar playing on this record informed my approach to writing guitar parts. This LP is their best, and probably my most played record.
Converge – All We Love We Leave Behind
Both us and Alex Adelhardt (producer) are big Converge fans, and when it came to recording the album, we both wanted to add Kurt Ballou-styled guitar noise where fit. When we talked about it in the studio, this is the Converge record we both had in mind, and borrowed from.
Mineral – Endserenading
My favorite Mineral record, and an inspiration to the guitar and drum patterns on our record, in particular the guitar bends and bouncing drum beats.
Osker – Idle Will Kill
An underrated band/record from the early 2000s, which influenced lots of guitar melodies on our album. “Disconnect, Disconnect” is my favorite song off that LP.
Who Calls So Loud – S/T
Amazing band with members of Portraits of Past, which I don’t think is active anymore. A friend reminded me of this record a couple weeks before recording, and they were a big inspiration for me when finishing up lyrics.
Choker – Dog Candy
Not a real influence musically, but a great EP regardless. I listened to the EP a lot in 2020, and I’m sure parts of it found their way into the PB record.
Chet Baker: Chet Baker Sings
It Could Happen To You: One of my favorite and most played artists/musicians, so I’m sure he influenced this record in some way or another. The way he sings and plays the trumpet is so full of emotion. “Everything Happens To Me” is my favorite song.
