New York lo-fi dreampop duo Phantom Handshakes return with From the Side, the lead single from their forthcoming EP, Standing By. Their first new music in two years transforms the helplessness of witnessing war, political violence and human suffering from afar into something intimate.
The song considers what it means to witness events unfold while remaining powerless to intervene. Distance offers no real protection as images of conflict continue to circulate, leaving behind grief, guilt, and the unbearable awareness that observation alone cannot alter another person's fate.
Matt Sklar and Federica Tassano allow that powerlessness to inhabit the track’s homemade textures. Their lo-fi production gives the song the quality of a private response to an overwhelming reality, with dreampop softness carrying emotions too deep for grand gestures.
Phantom Handshakes began in spring 2020 and have since self-recorded three albums, an EP and several singles. Arriving in October, Standing By opens with a song dedicated to those whose lives have been taken by war, violence and injustice.
ZR