A “phoneboy” is that one person staring into their phone while the world is happening around them. Flipping this mobile mentality, Phoneboy, the self-titled debut from the New Jersey trio—made up of singer and guitarists Wyn Barnum and Ricky Dana and bassist James Fusco—is meant to get people off the phones… and doing anything else.
Opening on “Nevermind,” featuring singer Justin Magnaye, the song pays tribute to Nirvana and a more humorous homage to the band’s horror movie obsession with references to Psycho, The Shining, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Friday the 13th in the video, directed by M.J. Ricciardi. Phoneboy is a captivating blend of indie-pop and far-fetched tales from showering in one’s clothes and dreaming of meeting Jay-Z on “Roses,” the punk pulses of “Sweater Song” and New Wave-tilted “1987,” to the lovelorn “Acid Girl” and acoustic close of “Lately.”