Phinyx - Bad Girls
Phinyx (pronounced phoenix) is a British singer/songwriter and self-proclaimed sad girl, a concept that she leans into both visually and with her music. This artist fuses Pop with the sounds of Lofi/Hypnagogic influences which results in music with feelings of melancholy, loss, loneliness and love, imprinting contemporary feelings into her soundscapes. Today we are excited to share our advance review of Phinyx’s upcoming EP, Bad Girls which is due for release on February 3, 2023!
Bad Girls opens with a short track, “Channel Surfing”, which is quite literally a brief channel-changing compilation of clips. I absolutely adore this introduction, it serves as a perfect teaser and attention grabber that hints to what comes next. The title track, “Bad Girls”, is second and this ballad has a melodramatic soundscape that leaves a lasting impact. Phinyx’s voice is powerful and her performance really sells the lyrics; I found myself impressed by how splendidly Phinyx captures the spirit of 80s love ballads. “Crucify Me” is up next and, wow - this one is powerful. The lyrical imagery Phinyx uses in this song is incredible and it adds an emotional layer that hits incredibly hard, seamlessly meshing with the vocals and instrumental to create a fantastic complete package of a listening experience.
The fourth track from Bad Girls is “Pity Party”. I have an admiration for the Lofi elements in this one and for the production as a whole; the use of sound bytes toward the middle of the song create a frantic feeling that amplifies the parallel emotions featured throughout the rest of the song. I also found this song to be the most melodically enjoyable from a personal perspective and, as a whole, the song is my personal favorite from the EP. Closing things out is “Under My Bed” which has a noticeably dark and foreboding energy. This song stood out as a bit different from the rest, though like the others it sets up an incredible atmosphere thanks to a rich soundscape; the difference here is that this one almost feels sinister in nature - and I love it. I grouped these last two songs together as my favorites for singles to help promote the whole EP because I personally think they showcase the best of Phinyx’s ridiculously exceptional songwriting skills.
As a complete work, Bad Girls serves to build upon the Lofi/Hypnagogic Pop landscape, designed to elicit the feelings originally brought by the analog sounds of the late 80s and early 90s, something that comes across brilliantly through each of the EP’s songs. Impressively, Phinyx handles the recording, instrumentation, mixing and mastering elements of her music by herself while also collaborating with talented, genre-breaking artists and her hard work shines brightly in Bad Girls. This EP is truly exceptional and I am excited to find out what other people think about it; I truly believe most folks will be as impressed as I am! You can keep up with Phinyx through Facebook and Instagram. Click here pre-save Bad Girls in advance of its release on February 3rd!
