New Music: Phantom Handshakes – Wisdom

The second single from Phantom Handshakes’ Standing By EP, Wisdom, is shoegaze with a divine yet deadly ambience about it.

Phantom Handshakes, comprising musicians Federica Tassano and Matt Sklar, describe the track as a “gazey slow burner,” and I have to say, I can’t put it better myself. Though maybe it’s not such a slow burn after all, as the melody is driven by an urgent reverb guitar, and the vocals of Tassano quickly aim for the heavens.

It has an air of Cocteau Twins about it; the duo eschews layering track after track, meaning there is space between the song’s building blocks for the lyrics to hit home, gently but firmly. Tassano is better served by a comparison to Ivory Snow of Sungaze, here. Her voice, and the track, fly high, calling for a response from an even higher plane – a Hiereia’s plea expressed in song.

“Wisdom is a sort of pagan prayer to a pagan god,” the duo has revealed about the lyrics. “It is an appeal to a supernatural force to descend upon the earth in the form of dust and seep into our skin, making humanity less petty and cruel, and more wise and generous. A plea for a miracle.”

You can pre-order Standing By in digital format right over on Bandcamp. Wisdom is streaming on Spotify and SoundCloud; for EP updates and further listening options for the music of Phantom Handshakes, head to Facebook or Instagram.