PHI-108 – Solve For Why
PHI-108 – Solve For Why – Album Review
“Each lyric is a profound reflection…”
Whoa, whoa, whoa…hold up & slow down compadres – that’s for us to decide, tyvm!
Alright…I’ll be real with ya though, they do make a pretty good case to support that statement you’ll find in their bio. Would I put that in there though? Heck no! No I wouldn’t. Not even under the most accurate of circumstances. I wouldn’t be able to survive the scrutiny that comes along with making such a bold statement, and I can assure you that if I’ve written anything profound in the past twenty-five years as a critic or journalist, that it has been luck and nothing more. Still, as “Behind The Curtain” started up this album from PHI-108, I felt like I could support them for the most part as they lead you down the rabbit hole of this Inception-esque opening they’ve got on their brand-new album Solve For Why. I dig the curious sound of the way this first song plays on…to be honest, you don’t hear too much that sounds like this out there right now. “Behind The Curtain” has a Beatles-esque psych-melody at the core of it, with that intricate style of guitar you might even hear in something like Zeppelin or the tone in the earliest cuts from Aerosmith like “Dream On” and such. There’s a throwback element to the sound that PHI-108 is working with that traces back even further than the roots of the members in their band, which goes back as far as the early 90s when Alfred Abraham and Alan Barber first started making music together, presumably under a different name. “Behind The Curtain” definitely reaches back further in time than their own history does for its inspiration though…but I feel like for the most part, people will dig what they hear in PHI-108, even if it’s a less common sound in the scene we share today. I’ll admit, in hearing “Behind The Curtain,” I was very much on the fence about the vocals…it felt a little uneven in that there were some moments of greatness, moments that seemed to have a bit of a whiny sound to them, and others that simply presented a more challenging pairing for the average everyday listener. As far as the music and the songwriting goes though, it was an easy win – this first track is highly intriguing.
PHI-108 actually reminds me a bit of a band called Paloalto…a combination of well-crafted, arty-rock songs that had a somewhat polarizing set of vocals at the helm that ranged between the undeniably great, to the undeniably grating…and you never really knew which was coming on what track. As I listened to “The Supersoul” (The Radio Edit Version), I can hear that PHI-108 is going to run into a few issues with convincing the public that the vocals are as appealing as their musicianship and songwriting – but in their defense, what works really well for them, ends up generating a massive level of appeal. Like, the main hooks of “The Supersoul” (The Radio Edit Version) for example – you can’t tell me you won’t find something to LOVE about what you’ll find in the chorus of this cut & how catchy it becomes. There are all kinds of awesome parts to this track…the drums are fantastic, the bass is perfect, the addition of the piano when it shows up…and beyond that, the songwriting itself is truly fantastic. I also feel like the whole structure is remarkably ambitious…like…damn near award-worthy when it comes to the vision they had for “The Supersoul” (The Radio Edit Version) and the results they’ve come out with. As I’ve said millions of times on these pages of ours by now I’m sure, a single hook played in just the right way can overcome a whole lot of hesitation or trepidation on the listening side of the scenario, and between what they create in the vocals of the chorus, and smart additions of piano melody on display, PHI-108 has a couple of ways they can certainly earn your full attention by what they bring to this song.
I should probably make myself clear too – I personally have no objections to singers that have a lot of character, or a sound that might appear to be an awkward fit. In fact, even though Alfred has since moved to Ohio in the USA, he was once a part of the Australian music scene, where you’ll still find Alan to this day – and one of my favorite singers of all-time actually comes from there – Paul Dempsey of Something For Kate, his solo work, or even more recently, as part of Fanning-Dempsey National Park. Odd or quirky vocals can often lead directly to establishing identity, which is crucial in setting yourself apart from the rest of what’s out there – and I genuinely feel like you’ll notice how PHI-108 is able to use that to their advantage as you listen to Solve For Why. Like, by the time you reach the third track, called “Time Immemorial,” I’m sure you’ll feel the same way that I do in that you could pick this band out of a lineup blindfolded…and as much as I like the music in what they create, the credit as to why we could identify them so quickly is completely because of the sound of the vocals in PHI-108. So make no mistake…it may take some getting used to – lots of great singers have a voice that does – but in the end, having a perceptible difference up front on the mic can lead to a very distinct sound that establishes the identity and loyal following any band or artist would kill to have. Plus, they’ve also got some seriously unique lyricism working in their favor, which is good, because that’s essentially what they promised us all from the get-go in the write-up of their bio online. But check this out as an example – “I don’t want to be a microbial parasitic entity” – that’s one of many brilliant lines you’ll hear on “Time Immemorial,” and beyond the line itself being extraordinarily unique, it’s phrased & sung in an equally fascinating way. As for the rest of the song…some excellent ideas in the drums again…I like what they do with the backing vocals as well…and while I might not entirely love the main hook they’re working with in the title of “Time Immemorial” for their chorus, I certainly understand its potential appeal for listening ears.
Look at it this way…one of the bands that’s likely going to be the most comparable to what PHI-108 is creating is going to be Radiohead, and arguments have raged on for years and years about whether or not he’s a brilliant singer (facts) or a straight-up whiner (wrong). Like I said, I might understand both sides of the argument on polarizing singers, but I also recognize the potential in any band or artist that basically forces us to not be indifferent about what we hear. PHI-108 is clearly blessed with that same advantage – everyone out there that tunes into this band is going to have an opinion on what they hear, but there isn’t gonna be a soul that doesn’t have something to say. I really liked “An Ugly Place” – there’s a bit more versatility in the vocals of this particular track…a bit more range on display overall as a song – they kind of go from a Radiohead-esque type of vibe, all the way through to sounds that would have you recalling bands like Pink Floyd, or even Strawberry Alarm Clock. And I’ll be real with you folks…if you can make me think of those three bands within the same song like PHI-108 does on “An Ugly Place,” please be sure to flag me down because I will ALWAYS want to listen to something like that. Listen to the brilliance in spots like around the 2:30 mark…the guitars…the keyboards…I mean, this is killer stuff, and if anything, PHI-108 seems to come on in, handle their business quickly, and wrap things up immediately – perhaps even too soon in instances like that. This is one of the shorter tracks on the record, but it’s filled with great ideas…things that they do with effects/production on the vocals…clarity and tone in the instrumentation & the way things are recorded…the attention to detail in “An Ugly Place” is really quite something. Their efforts are certainly not going unnoticed by yours truly over here – and of the songs in the first half of Solve For Why, I’d probably be inclined to put this up there as my favorite track so far. Probably not as universal in accessibility as “The Supersoul” (The Radio Edit Version) – but equally compelling for a completely different set of its own amazing reasons…so there!
I think that…sometimes we have to temper expectations. Here’s what every single musician on earth will tell you…their personal favorites on any given album are almost never the songs that the public end up feeling the same level of attachment to. It is freakin’ RARE for the creators and the consumers to share the same opinion on what the best of the best is, if only because one side is well aware of how much was involved in making it & all the many challenges overcome to bring it to life. On the listening side of the scenario, all we have to go on is what we hear and whether or not it gels with us – we’re not inclined to start handing out bonus points simply on the assumption that something was more difficult to make, you know what I mean? That being said, when you create something that’s demanding on the skills, it’s usually demanding on the listening ears too…think of it that way. Objectivity can often get tossed right out the window when you create a song like “Fortress Of Ice” that is going to challenge just about everyone in some way, shape or form…and sometimes it’s merely an act of pure defiance too – as in, good lord, they worked bloody hard on getting this right, so accessibility or universal appeal be damned, it’s GOING ON THE RECORD. That’s probably where I come in I guess…I’m the bridge in between, that exists to share a perspective that neither side can reach on their own. I would fully understand the average everyday listener getting seriously restless in listening to “Fortress Of Ice,” because PHI-108 is closing in hard on Progressive terrain, if you haven’t already attached that label to them. I’d also understand Alan and Alfred feeling extra attached to “Fortress Of Ice” too, because of course they would be! It’s complex, it’s unique, it’s ambitious…all of the things that are attractive to musicians and artists, which are usually the exact same things that create a barrier between them and the potential listeners. Hate me if you wanna, I’m just calling things like I hear’em, and I’m not even saying that I don’t like “Fortress Of Ice” myself, in case you haven’t noticed. I’ll admit that I don’t really feel like I’ve got a major sense of attachment to it personally, but I do admire the creativity this duo is showing us. It certainly ain’t easy to craft a song like “Fortress Of Ice” or execute on ambition like this when it comes time to record. They’ve pulled it off to its maximum potential in my opinion. I don’t think that’s gonna help win their case in the court of public opinion, but they’ve still brought their best to it, and that’s really all you can ever do as artists & musicians. It’s still a performance to be proud of.
So too, is the album overall, from my perspective…and I’d assume that the duo shares the sentiment. I look at it like this…after being apart for so long…after now living on entirely separate continents…I guess the only way to make a comeback in a scenario like that is to approach it with purpose and intent, which is really what I think you hear more than anything else in these songs. For better or worse when it comes to the amount of appeal they might contain to each of us as individual listeners aside, they’ve committed to every inch of their material and the results reflect that. What you don’t hear on Solve For Why that you do in so many other albums out there, is any kind of hesitation or lack of confidence. Both Alan and Alfred understood the assignment, and they went in with a clear vision to execute. As I found myself listening to “Offerings,” I was reflecting on the journey these two dudes must have gone on in order to be where they’re at today, and how cool it would be to reconnect for this kind of artistic endeavor. I’m still as realistic and objective as I’ve ever been…I’m well aware that “Offerings” and many of the tunes on this album are still going to be a very tough sell to the masses out there…but I suppose what I’m trying to point out is that artists and bands all make their records for very different reasons. I don’t know how old Alfred or Alan would be at this point, but given that their history in playing together traces back to the early 90s, it’s logical to assume their tires have a little less tread on them these days. So they’re probably not in this for the idea or presumption of commercial success on a massive scale, so much as they’ve taken up PHI-108 as a passion project that truly MATTERS to them beyond the concept of fame & fortune so many in this business pursue under such a misguided path. So while there is a bit less incentive to compromise or find that bridge between what you wanna create and what people will actually listen to that runs rampant throughout the course of this album, understand that the goals were probably entirely different for PHI-108 than they would be for most. These two dudes came back to find a way to put out the kind of music they truly wanted to make – that is their “Offerings” to the world, take’em or leave’em…and ultimately, I think that genuinely deserves the respect of everyone listening.
LISTEN to that meaty low-end at the start of “Drip Fed Friend” will ya? That rumble sounds menacing! And I love the way the piano comes in to support it with such a stellar melody gliding on the surface beside it. Not to remain too focused on the whole Australia thing, but man, PHI-108 would make for an awesome touring partner with a band like Evoletah…I feel like those two bands would get along like gangbusters, with fans of either band likely to be immediate fans of the other, you feel me? It’s highly artistic and ambitious music, complex but inspired, daringly creative and uniquely poetic stuff in its own way…I mean heck, if PHI-108 hasn’t found Evoletah on their own by now, or the local Aussie label of Paper Rock Scissors Records…they might just wanna explore that option. Anyhow…I’ll leave them to sort that out, should they feel so inclined. You know, I thought they were making a play on the name Drop Dead Fred with “Drip Fed Friend,” but I never found there to be a tie-in beyond the amount of syllables each name shares…maybe I missed it. For the most part, I dig this track…”Drip Fed Friend” is the longest cut on Solve For Why by a fair margin, but it’s got some savagely cool ideas in its instrumentation and the songwriting. Vocal-wise, I think I might have gone back & forth about this particular track more than any of the others on the album if I’m being honest with ya. What’s good is solid, what’s not…is a bit wider of the mark and coloring further outside of the lines than I’m personally comfortable, and I feel like another run through or slightly different approach to a couple spots might have been to their benefit…but maybe that’s just the way I’m hearing it. Where we often end up in situations where we have a catchy hook or two to compensate and make it so that we can easily overlook the occasional flat note or whatever, “Drip Fed Friend” is a little tougher in that regard, because it’s a song that really saves its most engaging hooks until around the 6:30-ish mark…which makes it tougher to get people to stick with in what I’ve pointed out. I think there’s a couple things at work here from my point of view…I think the vocals could have probably used another go around, given the immense complexities of singing a song like this, but I would also have argued that they’re not going to be the main feature of the song even in the event that they came out completely perfect either…and bringing them down in the mix a bit could have made the music in this track sound even more larger than life that it already is by doing so. Obviously, I’d have also advocated for the hooks towards the end to be featured a bit more prominently or have them occur earlier on as well…but at least they’re in there…and better late than never, as they say. All-in-all, you’d have to admit that a track like “Drip Fed Friend” packs in more twists & turns with the extra room they have in its length, and they ultimately use their time wisely in creating a tangibly unique experience as a result. I don’t know that I expect it to hit a homerun with everyone, but I do think those out there that dig a little more in the music they’re listening to will appreciate what they’ve pulled off here. “Drip Fed Friend” would be another cut that you can audibly hear the influence of Pink Floyd within for sure, but not so much that you’d consider it to be too derivative either. Just the right amount of Pink, and just the right amount of Floyd for it to see be all PHI-108 at the end of the day, which is of course, ideal. Don’t get it twisted y’all…music can always be two things or more…sometimes you’re going to dig on the ideas you hear and feel like there was still a bit more that could have been done to get’em where they needed to go…sometimes you’ll find a hook you love like I do towards the end of “Drip Fed Friend” and wish the band had chosen to include more of that good stuff in a song when they don’t…not everything is black & white in the art of making music, or in consuming it for that matter. With such a defined killer low-end in this track, believe me, it hits ya with enough power as it currently stands…a band like Failure made their entire career out of getting the low-end right like this is. It might be a bit uneven if you’re keeping score of what you like versus what you might not as much, but I think in the end, most listeners will at least appreciate the supreme scale of their ambition on this cut.
With what I would suppose essentially becomes a plea for the freakin’ light to come on and humanity to start figuring things out on “Reruns Of History” – you kind of have to marvel at how much further we’ve already shifted backwards in the time since this song originally got put out online at the end of 2024 as a single. If it wasn’t so damn tragic, it’d be outright amazing, you know what I mean? Without question, PHI-108 has put in some of my favorite lyricism on this final track from Solve For Why…every line, just like they initially promised us, lives up to that standard they were striving for in being profound. “What could possibly be left of humanity in this rerun of history?” they ask…and boy if I didn’t wish I had some kind of concrete answer for that. If there’s a way out of this mess, honestly, Australia might be leading the way by example after having banned that genuine P.O.S. Musk from interfering with their politics, and I can only hope that other countries do the same. It still wouldn’t be the ultimate answer, but it’d be a start. “Everybody wants to get the starring role in this tragic comedy” they say…which was an interesting line to me for sure. I mean, on a fundamental level, I’m a hard NO on that and happy to be set deep into the background, but at the same time, have too much interest in simulation theory and constantly question whether or not anyone else is actually real at all…so I appreciated how that made me stop and think about where we fit into this continual cycle of destruction & madness we’re locked into. For the record, I said I’m interested in simulation theory…and while I wouldn’t go as far as to say I’ve entirely ruled it out as a possibility, I would readily tell ya that it’s highly unlikely. At the very least, I’ve been able to conclude that I’m definitely not player one, and if that’s the case, I really don’t think I want to learn that I was player two the whole time if it was real, you feel me? Anyhow. You get the point – PHI-108 ends up delivering one of their most thought-provoking and mentally stimulating tunes at the very end of their album, and if you’re like myself and enjoy digging into music on a variety of levels, you’ll love how they give you the opportunity to dig deeper in this finale of Solve For Why. It also ain’t a bad tune in the set by comparison either, if you’re wondering. Solid music, vocals that did things a bit differently than the others and achieved some great results through a slightly different approach – but yeah, the lyrical aspect really steals the show at the end of this album in the best of ways, making sure we all get back in there for another spin to see what else PHI-108 has been communicating along the way. They’ve put a lot of time & effort into making this record, and ultimately, I think it all paid off accordingly…Solve For Why is artistic, measured, and carefully crafted…it’s made with real commitment.
I don’t know anything about time zones and such, but word on the street is that Solve For Why should be coming out everywhere on January 31st – in the meantime (or even afterwards if you like!) you can find out everything you need to know about PHI-108 and where to find their music from this handy multi-link right here: https://linktr.ee/phi.108
Fun fact – did you know some of the most capable minds and amazing musicians you’ve ever known STILL can’t find the best way to submit their music to us? You’d think it’d be easy, given that it’s right there on the main page of our site, yet the battle still continues! Click here to be the next up on our pages – it’s really that simple!
