“It was like we were breaking through something,” says Bay Area trio Phosphene’s Matt Hemmerich (drums) on their forthcoming EP Breaker. “We were writing direct, propulsive music that felt intensely cathartic.” The trio, comprised of Hemmerich, Rachel Frankel (vocals/guitar), and Kevin Kaw (bass/guitar), spent 2015 preparing their sophomore 6-song release Breaker, the follow-up EP to their S/T debut album that came out during a whirlwind 2014, garnering acclaim and generating support in the Bay Area from The Bay Bridged and The Owl Magazine (the band just played the magazine’s 10 year anniversary show), and resulting in winning free studio time from the Converse Rubber Tracks program, where the band recorded eventual EP track “Silver,” which premiered at Overblown.
They returned to the same recording studio, Different Fur Studios, on Valentine’s Day 2015 to track a second song, “Be Mine,” which premiered on The Bay Bridged and will also appear on the EP, and eventually to track the rest of the release, partnering with Sean Paulson (Tobias Jesso Jr, DIIV) for recording and mixing, and tapping Piper Payne from Coast Mastering to master the record.
Breaker, set for release on CD and digital formats on April 29th, 2016, was written during a time of severance. “Some of us were closing chapters in external relationships, which brought a clean slate mentality to the band,” says Hemmerich. Breaker is a diverse but unified pack of tunes. “For our second release, we sought a more cohesive, defined sound. The three of us got to write as a trio for the first time, so there was a natural evolution.” The melodies and instrumentation for Breaker were primarily inspired by Slowdive, Interpol, Low, and Alvvays, while the overall aim, as Hemmerich told Overblown, “is to create honest, emotive songs that we can share with others. We’re hoping to evoke something with our music”.
BREAKER TRACK LISTING
1. Be Mine
2. Silver
3. Hear Me Out
4. Rogue
5. Ride
6. Wild Decay
THE TEMP AGENCY publicity 