Phantom Handshakes - “No More Summer Songs”
Words by Zach Romano
Quarantine taketh away for the most part, but occasionally, quarantine giveth. Such is the case for Brooklyn’s Phantom Handshakes, whose debut full-length No More Summer Songs is out today via Z Tapes. The band, which is composed of veteran Brooklyn musicians Matt Sklar (of Parrot Dream) and Federica Tassano (of Sooner), started collaborating post-lockdown, after Sklar posted an ad on Craigslist looking for a vocalist for some songs he’d written. Tassano responded, and the duo has been busy since. No More Summer Songs is a follow-up to last year’s fantastic “Be Estranged” EP. Despite the title, the blissy yet melancholy low-fi pop tracks to be found here are the perfect soundtrack to the imagined summer that passed us by last year and the 2021 vaccinated summer that is promised.
Sklar and Tassano’s pre-pandemic bands have shared a bill, but the two have never actually met, even with an EP and a full-length under their belts. All of their collaboration is done via Dropbox; ideas are passed back and forth in what one might call, say, a phantom handshake. Their sound is a lively, fuzzed out pop that combines the sun-bleached vibes of Beach Fossils with the pulse and repetition of Stereolab. No More Summer Songs ranges from chilled out tracks like opener “I Worried,” which fades in and stays low-key throughout, to “A Secret Life,” which has the energy of a mid-period Cure single.
Sklar plays bass in Parrot Dream, and his bouncy basslines are high in the mix and often carry the melody. Tassano’s airy, effervescent vocals serve as more of an instrument alongside the synths and drum machines, and the way she modulates her voice and moves vowels around in her mouth (see the catchy nah-nah chorus in “No Better Plan”) indicates that she’s aware of this, too. Her voice sounds nothing like fellow low-fi pop purveyors The Drums’ Jonny Pierce’s, but her vocal affect, especially transposed against pulsing rhythms and undistorted guitar twinkles on tracks like “For The Hills” brings him to mind immediately.
Different people have different ideas of what summer songs are, but for me at least, Phantom Handshakes are tapping into a quintessential summer vibe here: the laid-back indolence of August mornings sweating in a loft that can’t be air conditioned because the windows are painted shut, or late-night rooftop hangs, desperate for a breeze. I’m not sure this album is the one that will be blasting out of the boom box you hauled to Rockaway, but for later that night, you can’t go wrong with No More Summer Songs.
You can purchase No More Summer Songs on limited edition cassette via Bandcamp. It’s also available on all streaming platforms. Keep up with the band by following them on Instagram and liking them on Facebook.
