Matty C Heading Westward Ho!
After an incredibly successful summer tour of the eastern half of the United States, Matthew Carlson (aka Matty C) is headed out to the Pacific Ocean and back for a run of more than thirty shows. This tour is a combination of house concerts, listening rooms, clubs, cafes, bars, and other unique and intimate spaces across the expanse of the great American west. The full list of dates and details is below.
'All Good Kids' is OUR
28 song love letter to
Guided By Voices
We are thrilled to announce ‘All Good Kids’ - A Tribute To Guided By Voices.
This 28 track compilation features Phonophore mainstays The Stick Arounds, Harborcoat, Royal Scene and The Pantones, as well contributions from a bevy of our favorite Midwestern acts and one lovely Scottish import to make it an international love affair for the greatest band to ever emerge from the great state of Ohio.
This is our first compilation for the label and we could not be more excited. Our musical friends, new and old came together to make this collection extra special.
For the GBV initiates, you'll find some classics as well as a host of deep cuts, each with their own spin on the GBV original.
For fans of the label who are new to Guided By Voices, let this comp act as a primer into one of the greatest bands American has ever spawned.
“The music is classic indie rock and there’s something in guitar work and in Carlson’s vocals that brings to mind some of the great Australian bands of the 1980s and 90s, like The Triffids, Died Pretty or The Church.”
— AMERICANA UK
" The Lansing, Mich. band came together as a project that was like casting a movie that breaks down the belief of idyllic small-town life and the underlying clouds of disappointment. Not unlike Sherwood Anderson’s stories Winesburg, Ohio, Primary songwriter Matthew Carlson’s intelligent jangle-pop recalls such cult favorites as The Windbreakers and The Vulgar Boatmen."
— SHEPHERD EXPRESS
“As in all the best jangle-pop, the almost joyous sounding instrumentals starkly juxtapose the heavy lyrics. If you're a fan of R.E.M or any jangle pop for that matter, you will love this record.”
— WLUR
“Joy is Elusive is a top notch listen. Sit in an Armchair and you'll soon find yourself tapping your foot and singing along. But this is also an album to listen to and admire. It is a balance between Country, even Americana and Guitar Pop, but that just makes the album welcomingly less predictable.”
— I DON’T HEAR A SINGLE
“Like Teenage Fanclub had left Glasgow and resettled in the American midwest.”
— ROCKIN’ THE SUBURBS
“Joy Is Elusive brims with retro tangs and luminous jangly guitars resulting in music simultaneously dazzlingly good and infectiously alluring.”
— THE YOUNG FOLKS
“A rousing dose of English pop-rock that recalls the Smiths, 1980s new wave, and the 1990s Brit-pop invasion. Lyrically, the song draws from the feeling of being stuck in a deep depression and trying to get out, a feeling that resonates with many of us in these fucked up times we’re living in.”
— GLIDE MAGAZINE
“Spirited, Indie rock melodies with poignant lyrics.”
— IMPERFECT FIFTH
“Springsteen-style working-class hymns, heartbreaking ballads focused on mental health, and REM-inspired dance numbers paint the colors and nuances of humanity on Harborcoat’s wonderfully crafted canvas.”
— LOCAL SPINS GRAND RAPIDS
“Plays like a glorious expression of joy mixed in with a jangled melody that washes over the soul like the perfect wave.”
— THE WHOLE KAMESE
royal scene joins the phonophore family
We are thrilled to welcome Royal Scene to the Phonophore family.
The members of Royal Scene grew up in Michigan. They're mature enough to remember their parents spinning the Beatles, Stones, the Who, and Zeppelin and later, during formative early teen years, feeling the pull of Cheap Trick, AC/DC, the Cars, and Kiss. Further on, they dove headlong into the Replacements, Husker Du, and Dinosaur Jr. The common thread: guitars, songs, and hooks. Autumn leaves, rust, and Faygo Rock & Rye. Midwestern crunch pop* injected with doses of Americana and the Second British Invasion.
In the early '90s, Scott Owens (vocals/guitar), Blair Darling (bass), Randy Farlin (drums), Tim Marzorati (vocals/guitar) , and Marc Nischan (vocals/guitar) - childhood friends, high school classmates, and college buddies - started writing and playing gigs. They cut their teeth in a vibrant and supportive scene with East Lansing at the center of the bull's eye. Two of these intertwined projects, 19 Wheels and The dt's, signed deals with Aware/Columbia and Warner Chappel, recorded albums, and toured the country playing many hundreds of shows between them.
Fast forward to 2016 or so. "Hey. Let's play." The initial (re)connection was forged via Bastards of Young, a Replacements cover band. After playing a fistful of energetic, well-received shows the focus shifted. "Hey. Let's write..."
Royal Scene has released two EPs, "Meet You at the End" (2019) and "Dose" (2020), and are currently writing songs for a release in early 2022 on Phonophore Records.
*not soda
HARBORCOAT
Joy Is Elusive