New Jersey indie-alt band Phoneboy released their sophomore album “Moving Out” on March 24. “Moving Out” comes two years after their debut, self titled album. “Moving Out” is a 30-minute soundtrack to your early twenties. The album is loaded with the nostalgia of being at those weird college ages where everything sucks but doesn’t at the same time and you are, quite literally, moving out. All 10 tracks are deserving of dancing around your tiny college apartment with the people you hold closest in this weird phase of life.
“Moving Out” starts strong, with the upbeat track “Ferrari.” “Ferrari” talks about all the big dreams most twenty-somethings have: fancy things, lots of money, and best friends, without being famous. This song makes me want to roll the windows down, open the sunroof, and drive with my hands out in the wind, screaming the lyrics at the top of my lungs.
The title track, “Moving Out,” touches on the trials and tribulations of meeting people and finding romance when you’re moving around so much in your twenties. It puts an energetic spin on a well known, tough situation, driven by a bassline that’s impossible to get out of your head.
“Your Apartment” is probably my favorite track off of “Moving Out.” The song feels so familiar, like I’ve lived it before. Being lonely, anxious, socially awkward, and trying to (unsuccessfully) date someone through all of it. This song is the perfect auditory depiction of how it feels when you’re constantly worried about what other people think and feel and never really being sure if you’re right.
“Wasting Time” may be the most realistic love song I’ve ever heard – an accurate three minute summary of dating in your twenties. This track talks about denying your own feelings, never being sure if you can rely on someone, how stressful dating can be, and how dating in your early twenties feels more like wasting time than anything serious. I love the lines, “Don’t be a bother, can I waste your time? My only problem is you’re not wasting mine.” Sometimes dating in your college years really is just a matter of wasting each other’s time by doing something stupid instead of anything you should be doing.
“Gone, Gone, Gone” is such a well-crafted closing track for this album. The melancholy lyrics paired with suspenseful instrumentals wrap up how a lot of this period of life feels in a nice three-and-a -half minute bow. “Gone, Gone, Gone” pulls at the heartstrings, bringing about the true nostalgia of moving out, going to college, being in your twenties, and having absolutely no idea what’s going on.
“Moving Out” is my favorite album release of 2023 so far. Phoneboy delivered on their iconic danceable sound found on their debut album and refined it to define themselves on “Moving Out.” This album is enjoyable for any age, but “Moving Out” is definitely the soundtrack for twenty-somethings in 2023.