PHONEBOY’S HEARTBREAK DESIGNER SHOWCASES THEIR MUSICAL GROWTH
Phoneboy carried out the end of 2024 and beginning of this year preparing for their new album, Heartbreak Designer, out April 25. Releasing four singles that generated the perfect hype to get fans excited for this invigorating album. Phoneboy started as a college band in 2018, with Wyn Barnum, Ricky Dana, and James Fusco playing smaller shows and garnering love and local success quickly. After a few years of growing the band, Jordan Torres joined the band after playing alongside them live; he then became a permanent member.
The lead single “I Look Alive” is a stunning example of how amazing Heartbreak Designer is. Reaching the Top 18 of Sirius XM and Alt Nation, “I Look Alive” is an upbeat introspective track about the trials of life set to Jordan Torres’ hypnotic vocals. The song sets the tone for the rest of the album while setting itself apart with instrumentals that make you want to jump around and scream.
“Better Than You,” out Feb. 6, is a track for anyone going through a breakup, filled with fun back-and-forth lyrics claiming that you’ll get the better side of a relationship ending, the lyrics “We both know the truth / that I’ll get through this better than you” encompassing the message perfectly.
The next single from Heartbreak Designer is “Red Wine”, which was released on March 13, and features a slower party vibe. The lyrics are a real standout on this track, with a switch up within the lines “How do I say / That it’s already over? / That I’ll erase you / The second I’m sober?” which then becomes “How can you say / That it’s already over? / That you’ll erase me / The second I’m sober?” The lines showcase the uncertainty of a potential one night stand.
The most recent and most energetic single, “Talking to Heads”, invites listeners to experience the fun and catchy side of the album. The track features instrumentals that evoke early 2000s coming-of-age movies and lyrics that you’ll never get out of your head. “Talking to Heads” has a chorus that will never fail to get you on your feet, with lines like “Back to the part / Where you said you miss me / It wasn’t you talking, it was the whiskey” the song is everything good.
The opening and closing songs on Heartbreak Designer have to get a spotlight as well.
“Wayside” sets the scene for the album in an incredible way, touching on different elements that come back throughout the tracklist. The song starts slower, with the guitar stealing the show for a full minute of a powerful introduction into not only the track but the collection as a whole. The vocals are rich and pure, exuding the emotion appropriate for “Wayside” and captivating listeners right off the bat.
“Running Out of Time” comes right off the bat with a repetitive lyric pattern, “I’ve been…”, to close out the album with yearning and passion. A track about coming home to someone but facing all of these roadblocks, “Running Out of Time” wraps up the album by drawing on the pieces of Heartbreak Designer that “Wayside” doesn’t to create a well-rounded beginning and end that causes a cyclical effect. The songs feed into each other and the album to tie back into the whole theme.
Produced with Ayad Al Adham, Heartbreak Designer is an album perfect for warm summer nights and driving around with friends. New and old fans of Phoneboy will love this album and their growth in sound and style.
PHOTO: @phoneboymusic Instagram
