Comprised of Trewin Howard (vocals, synths, production), who has synaesthesia, a condition in which the sufferer experiences two different senses simultaneously and an a still undiagnosed illness that has left his senses frayed and mind on edge; along with Howard’s two childhood friends Jeb Hardwick (guitar) and Ed Sanderson (piano/synths), the Brighton, UK-based founding trio behind Phoria recruited Tim Douglas (bass, synth) and Seryn Burden (drums) to flesh out the band’s sound. Over the past couple of years, the Brighton-based quintet have a growing national and international profile for crafting spectral and evocative soundscapes — 2014’s Display EP landed at #5 on Hype Machine’s charts, received airplay on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 6 and several million Spotify streams. They also have a burgeoning reputation for their live set which pairs Hardwick’s visual installations and projections with their live sound. And in fact, you may have remember coming across a post about the British quintet; however, it’s been a while since we’ve heard about them but the they will be releasing their highly-anticipated full-length debut Volition through X Novo Records on June 3, 2016.
Interestingly, the band’s primary songwriter Trewin Howard has explained that he never wanted to be a storyteller, as he ascribes to the concept of saying very little to say a lot, and as a result the quintet’s material generally focuses on a special mood while simultaneously focusing on a number of themes. Howard mentions that the material on Volition thematically touches upon love, sex, mortality, pain, joy, the way people interact, change and move each other and several other things. Volition‘s first single “Everything Beta” will further cement the British quintet’s reputation for crafting moodily spectral songs that sound indebted to Amnesiac and King of Limbs-era Radiohead, as Howard’s ethereal and plaintive vocals are paired with clicking and clacking percussion, twinkling piano chords, buzzing synths and a subtly anthemic hook in a song that slowly builds up an unresolved tension before quickly fading out. And while ethereal, the song manages to evoke a desperately aching yearning at its core.