Ramona and The Phantoms New Album
This Valentine’s Day find some company in the music of Kylie Slabby’s solo project, Ramona and The Phantoms. Her newest album, Marmalade & Blood is set for release on February 14th 2021.
Fittingly for that lover’s day, a pre-release single from the album is titled “Bisou” (that’s French for kiss). If this track holds any clue to the content of the full album, we can be sure it will contain some of Slabby’s idiomatic, oddly-sweetened sadness. The first two lines of Bisou come almost as a nursery rhyme as Slabby intones, “What do you get out of thinking you’re alright?/What do you dream in your room when it’s late at night?” Bisou’s accompanying music video shows Slabby singing before clips of flowers blooming, her eyes wandering as if caught in a day dream.
From the Bisou Music Video
Bisou features some of that patented surfy-guitar which can be found on her previous albums. But this album will differ from those of her past. Slabby recorded the whole album in her bedroom ‘studio’ with a single mic. “The whole album has a very “DIY” feel to it,” Slabby said. “All in all, it’s just a very different album/feel from others I’ve released in the past.”
This is Slabby’s third solo album, following Always Cherry (2017) and Sweet & Low (2018). Her lyrics feel as if out of a personal journal. Slabby brings an admirable level of vulnerability to her work. “I just honestly cannot write a song if I’m not having a full-on emotional breakdown, which happens very often, or if I’m not angry/annoyed about something, which also happens very often,” Slabby said of her songwriting. “My lyrics are very true and raw.”
Follow Ramona and The Phantoms on Instagram and Spotify @Ramonaandthephantoms to keep up with their newest releases.