Meet Phlo Finister.
The California-bred, Youthquaker-inspired (that’s a 1960’s cultural moment, FYI) songstress has been floating (read: phloating) around for a while now: In fact, she’s been slowly generating buzz and releasing music over the past few years, even briefly retiring from music at one point in December. As it turned out, all she needed was time — and time was quite kind to her.
Now, Phlo’s preparing to release a debut EP in the UK on Night Beach Records called Poster Girl on July 29, co-produced by Benny Cassette and Andrew Dawson, who is best known for his work with Kanye West, Nas, Jay-Z and, most recently, with the Pet Shop Boys on their shimmering 2012 record, Elysium.
Sparse, ghostly and desolate, Poster Girl is already shaping up to become an essential haunt for your late night listening sessions: Think Cassie and Aaliyah at their loneliest, Lana Del Rey at her summertime saddest, Natalie Walker at her dreamiest and The Weeknd at his Weekndiest (oh, how I love the Weeknd.)
“Last Winter” sees Phlo bringing the chills across drippy beats, providing a bad bitch narrative of diamonds, dope and dirty dealings that could have easily been found somewhere on Cassie’s RockAByeBaby mixtape or Lana’s Born To Die. “It’s the last winter and now I’m growing cold / Can I take you with me? Can I take you home?” she gently pleads above a lonesome guitar strum. “Coca Cola Classic,” too, is a nod to Lana’s classic American nostalgia and soft drink obsession (and/or drugs) mixed with a trip-hop edge: “I know you love the coke / Baby boy, you so dope,” she coos above a prickly thump, evoking Massive Attack and Portishead.
“Hotel Miami,” on the other hand, is like hearing Cassie’s icy-R&B take on Utada‘s “Hotel Lobby.” “Can you meet me at my hotel? Meet me at my hotel / Meet me at the top floor, Room 2012,” she breathily seduces, her barely-there vocals gently wrapping around tripping beats and atmospheric textures as she propositions us through the speakers: “Baby, I could be your call girl.”
Wait until midnight, and then dive in deep with three tracks from the Poster Girl EP below.
Now then, how do we go about orchestrating a Lana-Phlo duet?
Poster Girl EP will be released on July 27.