Phosphene puts a bit of a crackly edge in the guitar sound of “Levitation.” There’s a bit more of an urgency in the song than much of the rest of the band’s new album Transmute (which released on September 15, 2023). The record was more or less born during the peak COVID-19 pandemic period and often written and recorded as the duo practiced and worked from home and the increased proximity fostered a spirit of creatively expanding upon where the band had been before. This including themes of troubling current events and the existential anxieties that seemed to course through human civilization and manifesting in various ways and mutating into strange notions exacerbated by new use of technologies like deep fakes and the widespread proliferation and consumption of misinformation. Phosphene explores these themes and more in deeply atmospheric melodies and poetic and sometimes humorous observations on world events and how they influence everyday life. “Levitation” with its loops of distorted, incandescent guitar and propulsive rhythms and lyrics seemingly about the challenge of taking on so many of the stresses pushed on to you in getting through the world these days and internalizing them more than usual because it all seems to be hitting us hard and fast without much letup. But then to cast off that anxiety and bitterness from the burnout of processing it all again and again and starting to wonder if you still can. The sheer momentum of the song suggests that you can and that even if you’re not feeling it better to give it another shot rather than succumb to hopelessness. Listen to “Levitation” on Spotify and follow Portland, Oregon’s Phosphene at the links below.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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