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Phantom Vibes

by Joey O'Neil

supported by
Benjamin Peddle
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Benjamin Peddle this is the album of the year, perhaps decade, and if you don't agree you're a big poser Favorite track: Mirroring.
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1.
I Pick Up 01:57
You only call me when you’re drunk The only time you give me compliments You’re on the line slurring your sentiments So I pick up When you wake up It never happened at all You only see me when you’re high The only time that we meet eye to eye You’re opened up, allowing me inside So I pick up When you wake up It never happened at all I exist in a memory you don’t have I’ll enlist in this momentary lapse ‘Cause if I didn’t pick up If I didn’t pick up If I didn’t pick up If I didn’t pick up It wouldn’t happen at all
2.
Ghost Me 03:20
Shrouded by screens, we go back and forth But I can see through you Don’t respond if it feels like a chore Or if guilt were to move you I’ve spent my time convincing before But it’s not worth the pain anymore So don’t haunt me if you don’t want more I’d rather be alone than waiting by the phone for you Ghost me, please Ghost me In bad spirits, you left me on read Now I’m reading into you Will you pass on? Will I leave you for dead? Do I believe in you? I’ve played into distraction before But it’s just not my game anymore So don’t creep me if you keep getting bored I’d rather be let down than led on by you Ghost me, please Ghost me Phantom vibes are cursing me Put me out of my misery I’ve put on the pressure before But if you don’t want to talk anymore Don’t hover, I’ll find another soul I’d rather be progressed than possessed by you Ghost me, please Ghost me Ghost me
3.
In a Taxi 03:44
I'd rather be home than here Don't know what I expected but what you did was clear Then we made some decisions brought on by a couple of beers Now I'd rather be home than here I say I'll call a cab I know the number by heart I'll wait at the nearest intersection Five to ten minutes in the dark I'd rather go home than linger on We've already reached the climax of a casual correspond So let's call it a night instead of stalling all night long I'd hate to wait 'til break of dawn Don't wanna be overdressed for breakfast Staggering down Queen Street West Other sleepwalkers showing shame Oh, who wore it best? I'd rather head home than stay behind You got what you wanted but you didn't give me mine I'm wide awake and you won't miss me lying by your side I have a feeling you'll sleep just fine I have a feeling you'll sleep just fine So I strap me in a taxi Say my address, get driven east Spinning in the backseat A wrinkled dress, a snotty sleeve Trekked across Toronto Just to not feel taken care of Mirroring our trashy mascot What schmuck invented mascara Flashing back on me and you Dodging your persistence Watch the meter, counting coins Every dollar's worth the distance Assessing in these streets Was I an honoured guest? 'Cause somewhere in your sheets Rests ambiguousness And the driver's making small-talk Someone get me out of here And obliging in the dark car I'll be humouring through the tears And still, I'd rather be home than here
4.
Mirroring 02:45
Caught off-guard in a silver-backed glass I am faced with the familiar Unintentional habit, unmistakably you Borrowed mannerisms mirrored Mirroring you Carrying you Learned through love, I took you on Mimicked just like the rest Expression collection of those I hold dear I held you the dearest Mirroring you Carrying you Scrying crying, I trace your face Recorded in muscle memory Facial ticks tricking me, triggering tears Move me and move through me Mirroring you Carrying you
5.
Fawning season, guardians and their kin Frolicking and fleeing by incisors’ skin Following your mother, trusting in her path My roadblock stops you in your tracks She leapt away, you had to stay I’m sure she called out all she could Her babe is lost and when you lose your spots Would you know her if you met her in the woods Fawning season, ease up on the gas There is no reason we should’ve come to pass Coming out of nowhere, caught up in the light You froze and now you’ve got to fight Are you healing, I’m still reeling Wondering whether I did all I could Your hoofbeats sound my heartbeats But would you know me if you met me in the woods
6.
7.
Neighbour 02:56
It’s over but she lives ‘round the corner And haunts the houses in between She hasn’t come around in a while but I’m still in denial She doesn’t care where I’ve been And even when she leaves town I find That she’s constantly circling the block In the neighbourhood In my mind Permanently on patrol or searching over my shoulder Preparing myself for suspected surprise Paranoid of perpetually bumping in to what could have been I can’t face her with this face of mine And even when she leaves town I find That she’s constantly circling the block In the neighbourhood In my mind And when getting sugar from your neighbour Isn’t exactly an informal favour It’s like they say So close, so far away It’s over but she lives ‘round the corner And haunts the houses in between And even when I leave town I find That she’s constantly circling the block
8.
PO Box 02:08
Every time I turn my mailbox key A lock opens up in me Vulnerability won’t make you write to me My PO box is empty so I lock it up and leave Small town making small talk I pretend I’m fine in line Up on bulletin boards I search for a sign of any kind Every time I turn my mailbox key A lock opens up in me Vulnerability won’t make you write to me My PO box is empty so I lock it up and leave I see your ghost all the time But unlike our zeitgeist You said you’d write So I waited, I stayed up nights wondering what it’d be like When I would turn my mailbox key And your lock would open up for me The possibility of an answer exceeds But my PO box is empty, so I lock it up and I leave
9.
Still 03:09
Long exposure lets in the light With her strong composure I won’t blur my lines Holding me back from thrashing around Grounding figure in the background She holds me still She holds me still I float on a shadow that suggests her shape My vignetted mother fades in drapes Hiding in focus, I see her still Overlooked figure in the background She holds me still She holds me still Zooming ahead, I’ve left her hearth Though her warmth is still present when we’re apart Photographic memory still calming me down Forever a figure in the background She holds me still She holds me still
10.
So Long 04:21
It takes time to take these mountains and look at them anew Squinting, straining for a varied view Finding peaks and valleys that don’t remind me of you Planting trees where forest fires grew When the wayward wind blows west with echos on its breath Campfire smoke, amber, cigarettes Common scents surround while your musk mnemonic looms Clear the air and reapply perfume Oh, I’ll unlearn you one day After our drawn-out fadeaway So so long, so long, so long Each time it takes so long For things that make a home made home on walls and shelves Offerings that spoke the way you felt Consider a declutter while hoarding retrospect Wiping surfaces where dust collects In someone else’s hands my reflexes rewind Sunk into another porous time Inflammatory memory as their arm’s around my waist Reclaiming this silhouette you traced Oh, I’ll unlearn you one day After our drawn-out fadeaway So so long, so long, so long Each time it takes so long Still training my sincerity to recycle Darlings and Dears My lovers’ name repurposed through the years These terms that once endeared you I sighed, spoke, sang, and wrote Signing Sincerely Yours on others’ notes Oh, I’ll unlearn you one day After our drawn-out fadeaway So so long, so long, so long Each time it takes so long Oh, I’ll unlearn you one day After our drawn-out fadeaway So so long, so long, so long Each time it takes so long
11.
There’s only songs about you on the radio And I’ve tried to tune into a different show Oh no, the dial’s all the same, all frequencies, every wave There’s only songs about you on the radio I’ve told the DJ to change their tune There must be more musical notes they could croon Ooh ooh, I guess I could turn it off but I’d be alone with my thoughts There’s only songs about you on the radio You’re the little earworm that worms its way Into hearts and hitlists every single day And hey, I’m a top forty fool and my ear’s stuck on you Though you’re severely overplayed There’s only songs about you on the radio I don’t know how they do it but it just goes to show Oh oh, they’re broadcasting a sign, all signals have aligned There’s only songs about you on the radio There’s only songs about you on the radio I don’t know how they do it but it just goes to show Oh oh, they’re broadcasting a sign, all signals have aligned There’s only songs about you, songs about you In forty odd years, you’ll still be all that I hear When I turn on my radio
12.
Lapse 00:51

about

Have you ever felt your phone vibrate in your pocket only to realize nobody is trying to reach you? An album of figurative ghost stories, Phantom Vibes is Joey O'Neil's third full-length release for which she has learned to play the theremin. This 12-track collection marries the modern world with the spirit realm, exploring presence in familiar forms. Swirling amongst the theremin’s haunting wail are some enchanting vibraphone trills, the arresting breath of a flute, a trumpet’s nostalgic croon, a warm organ, and a weepy pedal steel voiced by producer Aaron Goldstein (Le Ren, Julianna Riolino). Their previous collaboration on O'Neil's sophomore record Ever Ahead garnered praise from the CBC, Exclaim!, Canadian Beats, NEXT Magazine; and presently there are new anecdotes to offer. Millennial tales of missed calls, photographic presence, triggering melodies, mannerism possession, and even “ghosting” are gifted a timeless weight by the album’s anachronistic arrangements. Structured with tracks that act as an overture (I Pick Up), an intermission (Phantom Vibes), and a coda (Lapse), this record leaves breathing room between thoughts, allowing moments to loom long enough to sink in while riffing on familiar refrains. It’s as if O’Neil’s heartfelt songs of intangible connection, narrated by her vulnerable voice and uplifted by the backup vocals of the theremin, are shared memories echoing in space. More than ever, Joey O’Neil has cordially invited us into her personal reflection as she hosts this soul-stirring séance… and we’re so pleased to accept.

credits

released August 25, 2023

Written by Joey O'Neil
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Aaron Goldstein
Recorded at Gold Standard Recorders (Toronto, ON) 2023
Additional edits by Josée Caron
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova

Joey O'Neil: Vocals, guitar, theremin
Robin Hatch: Piano, organ
Dani Nash: Drums
Kate Palumbo: Bass
Racha Moukalled: Vibraphone
Tom Moffett: Trumpet
Connor Moe: Flute
Aaron Goldstein: Pedal steel
Josée Caron: Lead guitar

Album art: Horst Herget
Press photos: Liv Sacco

Thank you, Mum, Dad, and bekky
Thank you, Josée Caron
Thank you, Aaron Goldstein, all the musicians, and Select Bakery
Thank you, Liv Sacco, Horst Herget, and Rose Aura
Thank you, Laura-Lynn Petrick, Nina Vroemen, and the ghost dancers
Thank you, Carolina Eyck and Micah Barnes
Thank you, Jen Cymek and Music Yukon
Thank you, Lil Anderson and the Dryden Ministry of Natural Resources

We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
This project was made possible thanks to Yukon Media Development and the Performing Musician Fund.

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Joey O'Neil Dawson, Yukon

Joey O'Neil is a critically-acclaimed Yukon folk musician bewitching audiences with hauntingly heartfelt anecdotes from a woodland life.

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