phabies - the curse of caring

Congratulations to Phabies, whose sophomore record The Curse of Caring is out today. Since announcing the album, the indie rock quintet from Grand Rapids, Michigan have gathered notable praise from tastemakers including Brian Eno, FLOOD Magazine, Spotify’s Fresh Finds Folk, Under The Radar,  Apple Music’s New In Alternative, DittyTV, The Luna Collective, and many more. Singles including the tenderly serene “Blooms Of April,” the raucously cathartic “The Bloodletting,” and the jangly and jubilant “I Care For You” have illuminated Phabies as an indie rock force to watch. 

The Curse of Caring explores the inescapable instinct to save—in the context of human relationships as well as humanity’s relationship to the natural world. “I’ve always felt a duty to create something out of nothing,” says Hobson. “Whether that’s changing a grass lawn into a native ecosystem or playing three chords to create a song.” Over the course of the album, Phabies confront a collapsing planet head-on, juxtaposing lyrical severity with sophisticated upbeat indie rock. Read the full album bio here.

Phabies is Andrew Deters (guitar), Laura Hobson (vocals, guitar, keys), Joshua Holicki (drums), Max McKinnon (keys), and Garrett Stier (bass guitar, vocals). The Curse of Caring was recorded with producer Jake Merritt at Sabbath Recording and engineers Matt Latchaw and Agustin Escalante in Cincinnati, Ohio and at Local Legend Recording in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The album was mixed by Adrian Olsen (Foxygen, Fruit Bats, Natalie Prass) Jeremy Ferguson (Cage the Elephant, Lambchop, Be Your Own Pet) and Sean Sullivan (Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Kurt Vile), and mastered by Kim Rosen (Aimee Mann, Emmylou Harris, The Milk Carton Kids), with string arrangements by Oliver Hill (Kevin Morby, Wet) and Benjamin Kaufman (Molly Parden, Paramore).