As noted in SLAP’s review of PHON’s ‘Split The Bill’ last November, the heavy grunge trio are in fact from Worcester and not Phon in northeastern Thailand. Therefore, we can take vicarious credit for the band’s inclusion on this year’s Bloodstock bill. In recent years the legendary festival in south Derbyshire has been played by the likes of Megadeth, Judas Priest, and Slayer.
You might think that PHON are missing an E, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. New single ‘R U About?’ is a 21st century ‘The Drugs Don’t Work’ with all the swagger of a young and careless Richard Ashcroft barrelling down a Wigan street.
The first ten seconds are a jam heard through a wall, then scuzzy rhythm guitar bursts through and we’re right in the middle of the noise. The contempt in Ollie Ridley’s voice is tangible as he snarls, “And your friends break down the door / And stumble in with a bag / And tell you everything’s going to be alright.” This is certainly no account of an emergency donation of PE kit. “Your friends don’t love you when you’re sober / And they only call you over / When it’s time to get high.” This is repeated four times so that those under the influence will hopefully get the message and because they’re very catchy lyrics. To underline his exasperation at former friends being swept up by the clutches of drugs, Ollie ends the track with a death growl like a T-Rex stepping on a piece of lego.
Drugs are bad, mmmkay? PHON are great, mmmkay?
R U About? is out on 30th May via all the usual streaming platforms. You can pre-save it here.
By: Neil Laurenson