Evolving beyond an indietronica solo project for founder Crystal Choi, New Zealand’s Phoebe Rings is gearing up to release their full-band debut album Aseurai next month, with the project’s 10 tracks expressing how far beyond their baseline dream-pop influence they’re willing to push things on their introductory statement. The Korean-language title track opens the album with a sense of atmospheric calm that wafts through the remaining songs, the title itself proving an apt summary for the project. “‘Aseurai’ means around you in the atmosphere, hard to reach, fading away,” Choi explained when the album was announced earlier this year. “It’s a poetic expression. You wouldn’t say it in normal conversation, but I like that.”
The record’s latest single maintains this sense of poetry. “Fading Star” blends upbeat, tightly constructed indie pop with synth flourishes borrowed from city pop and new-wave, all of which is in service to a narrative about an aging musician. “‘Fading Star’ was built upon harmony inspired by city pop and disco jazz,” explains the band’s drummer and producer, Alex Freer. “I wanted the verses to have more of a Talking Heads/Orange Juice rudimentary groove while the choruses have twinkly, dreamy layers with string synth and warbly guitar. The bridge allows a moment of full disco excess with percussion, clavinet synth, and a tube screamer guitar solo.”
The aforementioned contrast in tones and colorful instrumental flourishes are all channeled into the single’s music video, which depicts a work-day fantasy of performing the track on a glittering stage. Check that out below, and pre-order Aseurai ahead of its June 6 release via Carpark here. Phoebe Rings also recently announced that they’ll be hitting the road with fellow Kiwis and Carpark alums The Beths—check out those dates here.
