Girl at the Rock Shows

I feel like anyone who can write, perform, and record an entire album alone is a genius. Foul Out is a genius. Christian, the human behind Foul Out, spent about five months writing and recording their new album ‘Phantasm’ in their bedroom. Being a one-human show and doing everything in the bedroom doesn’t always end up as good as it probably could be, but I think that albums and songs created like this have a certain sense of charm and raw emotion that you can’t get from shoving multiple people into a room to record on a deadline. It was for all of these reasons and more that I was super excited to kick my Saturday morning off with a nice cup of coffee and this album.

“Anymore” starts this eight-song album with a chill yet raw and energized vibe. At first, I felt an almost grunge influence with the guitar tone, but within no time, Foul Out crashes in with his full band sound, creating a more garage rock feeling that is so easy to get lost in. I’ll be honest: I felt that some of the instrumentation came off as a bit muddy in this opening track, making it hard to really get into individual parts in this song, but, at the same time, I liked the raw emotion that it creates surrounding this song. There’s something almost defeated about some of the vocals, but at other moments, there’s an almost triumphant energy that comes through with the clashing drums and chugging guitars. Long story short, this first song caught me but left me with many more questions about what else would come in this album.

Although the beat of “Crime and Punishment” is pretty standard, something about it really hooked me. There’s just a bit more of a bitter tongue behind the words, and I felt that the instrumentation felt ever so slightly more frantic. As I listened to this second song, I realized that the name of the game when it comes to Foul Out is emotion and passion, and that’s what this song comes dripping in. Although, again, some of the recording quality leaves a bit to be desired, it just adds to the charm of what Foul Out is doing and adds that special magic that makes this an album more than worth your time.

A siren-like guitar tone starts “Aching” off in a way that will absolutely grab your attention. The song quickly falls back into Foul Out’s signature garage-punk sound, but that intro definitely sets the tone for this super-powerful track. There’s heartbreak in this song. I mean, really, you can feel heartbreak throughout this album, but there’s just something a bit more apparent about that element in this song, and I like how that sensitivity in the vocals doesn’t quite match the intense instrumentation yet creates a super intriguing overall sound and vibe.

The fourth and fifth songs on this album (“Wasp Monger” and “Splatter Film,” respectively) continue to dive into Foul Out’s world. I feel like, as those two songs played through, I was becoming a closer friend to the human behind this act. Although the songs had the same energy and vibe as laid out in the first three, you can feel Foul Out get a bit more comfortable with the vibe and sound they do so well while drawing you closer and deeper into their world.

Out of all of the songs on this album thus far, I feel like “Facedown” hit me the hardest. Although the vocals feel a bit more cluttered than the previous songs, just as far as how they seem to get lost in the rest of this song, there’s just a sense of fire in this song that I found truly irresistible. Add a composition that, although fairly standard, keeps you on your toes as far as the ebb and flow of this song is concerned, and you are left with a super powerful song that will make you feel so many things even if you thought you had nothing to feel at this given point. The same can be said with “The Tall Man,” the seventh track on this album, but this one hit a bit differently. You hear Foul Out return to their more defeatist energy in the vocals while the instrumentation stays energetic and angsty. It’s a cool blend and shows that, although Foul Out definitely has a distinct sound and style, they can do so many different things with it.

I would have loved to hear this album end with “The Tall Man” just because I feel like it really showcases everything that Foul Out has to offer, but there is one song left on this quick listen. “Let It Hurt” feels oddly commercial in a way compared to the rest of the tracks on this album, and I loved how Foul Out seemed to save that little surprise for the very end. The vocals take a more somber approach to the words in this song, while the guitars fly a bit higher than they had previously. The thing that stood out to me the most in this song is a particular guitar lick that repeats throughout moments of this song. Naturally, I’m not going to tell you when this lick takes place, but I promise that you’ll catch onto it upon first listen, and it’ll leave you just as in love with Foul Out as it has left me.

‘Phantasm’ isn’t a super polished album, but that’s the charm. I like my music and the emotion that comes with it raw, and that’s exactly what you get from Foul Out throughout this well-curated, perfectly crafted eight-song album.

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