I Spy With My Little Eye, Pheonix and Fame

The beauty of any indie artist, song, or whatever applicable is that you typically get a raw sound that would otherwise be lost in the context of a bigger production. “Soulbound” by Pheonix is today’s example of this exactly.

Artists have proven over time that you can make a timeless piece that’s just as minimalistic as it can be complicated. The idea being that each song will require a different outline of complimentary additives or reductions. “Soulbound”, as a collective, finds itself in between the sweet spot of being simplistic and being sophisticated. The track begins with The Beach Boys inspired harmonies, haunting lyrics of separation, and a guitar riff for the pace. Pheonix is already well-known for his versatility within other genres, and his lyrics in this song are a positive testament of that as well. The point being, some of the rhyme-schemes being used and sung would feel atypical in the hip-hop and/or rap scene, but feel unknown in this context of a dark indie-pop song. Stylistic choices such as these are the backbone to the overall success Pheonix has earned from songs such as this. It’s the orchestra, the harmonies, the lyrics, the melodies, the two-note guitar part used throughout the whole song just for ambience, and everything related that makes this and other songs by Pheonix soar.

The track is roughly three minutes long, and ends with pianos, strings, horns, woodwinds, a choir of vocal tracks, and more. Pheonix mentioned that he made this song in a studio apartment that he used to live at, and in a strangely sincere way, “Soulbound” is the product of heartbreak and separation, but it’s also the product of a real experience, a real moment, and a real feeling caught by someone in the space of their own home and thoughts. It’s hard to imagine the song in a bigger studio production given that the amount of attributes helping the song would’ve only been possible in the circumstances that happened as is.