Experimental pop four-piece Phoebe Rings embrace themselves on “Cheshire”

The four-piece behind Phoebe Rings met while studying at a jazz school tucked away in the city of Auckland, New Zealand. This is the same school that the members of accomplished indie rock group The Beths attended (and interestingly enough, the group’s guitarist, Jonathan Pearce, is a producer on Phoebe Rings' upcoming album.) Featuring Crystal Choi on vocals and keys, Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent on guitar, Ben Locke on bass, and Alex Freer on drums & percussion, the group’s technical music background gives their discography an especially smart dream pop sound.

Technical prowess aside, the members also have a pension for lush, dreamy soundscapes (their band is named after the largest outer ring of Saturn). With rhythmic, dynamic instrumentals and contemplative lyrics, the group makes music much like avant-garde pop groups Stereolab and Broadcast, and that well-rounded sound has made them stand apart in the music scene. Today, they are the newest signees to independent powerhouse Carpark Records.

Following the glowing single “Daisy” comes “Cheshire,” out today, written by lead singer Choi. The wild dreamscape of “Cheshire” matches the tone of its inspiration: the world of Alice in Wonderland. With its spry bassline, bossa nova-inspired percussion, and layered harmonies drifting atop a section of romantic strings, it’s a lively, glittering masterpiece.

“‘Chesire’ is about my battle of not being able to accept myself the way I am, and dreaming of a day where I reconcile and embrace myself (where I could “dance with the mirror”),” Choi explains. “There are hints of life where that actually happens, but it kinda smiles and disappears, like the Cheshire cat. I was right in the middle of listening to heaps of Stereolab whom I still love, and hence the influence of the arrangement.”

Coming on October 18th, Phoebe Rings’s debut self-titled EP is a homage to some of the four-piece’s favorite things: 90’s Korean ballads, Studio Ghibli films, atmospheric video game soundtracks like Zelda and Stardew Valley, and all other dreamy things. The project has been in the making since the lockdowns that happened during the pandemic, but their reach goes beyond music — the EP inspired a game available to play now whose levels correspond with each track.