Phantom Dan’s Are You A Phase of the Dark: your pop punk soundtrack for 2025
By Scott “Better This Year” Belzer | January 6th, 2024
Ahh, the new year. Time to rest, recover, and think about changes for the upcoming 12 months (at least until next January). Will you try to be a better person? Or are you truly committed to the chaos?
Are You A Phase of the Dark, the latest EP from Athens’ emo pop punk maestros Phantom Dan, seems to kindly suggest “Fuck it, just go with your gut!”
Like most bangers in this genre, Phantom Dan’s four-song EP is an emotional tour-de-force by way of head-bobbin’ beats, catchy melodies, and raspy-yet-melodic vocals. Where the music supplies delightfully familiar highs, the lyrics suggest there’s always a new low to hit. Are You A Phase of the Dark is no exception, with the band slinging downright fun chord progressions, steady beats to bop around to and, you guessed it, songs about nostalgia, inner conflict, and personal betterment.
Like all of our pop-punk forebears taught us in young adulthood: If you’re going to feel something, why not do it with a rebel yell?
The EP’s opener, “Bad Habits,” could be an anthem for Dry January. Dan (or who I assume is Dan) describes his process for making some rough decisions—moping around on the couch, dwelling on failed relationships, considering life’s unfairness—before going out to “have a night [he] didn’t plan.” The song relies on a great chorus with verses that get downright funky, making for an interesting take on pop-punk anthems and, ultimately, a great opener.
If you’ve ever had a great night with friends as a young punk, goth kid, metalhead, or misfit, there’s a great chance you’ll relate to “We Were Kings.” Dan takes listeners on a trip to the past that involves playing basement shows, indulging in illicit substances, and feeling all the better for it thanks to the glory of youth. And while the song also describes a reality us aged folks can all relate to—“My knees hurt / I have sciatic nerve pressure pushing up through my spine / I wanna go back / Please take me back,”—the ultimate lesson provided comes with the song’s emotional crescendo: “It’s never too late to not let go.” Consider this Are You A Phase of the Dark’s ballad.
“Get So Low” does a great job once again describing the pathological mania that accompanies self-destructive thinking. Sometimes you just get into a dark place and make some bad descisions, y’know? Dan knows. I know. Lord knows we all know—and that’s the magic of the track. What I appreciate about the Phantom Dan’s take on this line of thinking is that the music sounds downright sinister. Where “Bad Habits” is the anthem for making better decisions, this might be the yin to that yang (or is it the other way around?). Every villain needs a theme song, and Evil Dan created his own.
Naturally, the end of this emo-pop-punk journey comes by way of “Sleep It Off”. The bad decisions have been considered and pursued. The only way back is to hibernate, analyze, and perhaps make a better decision moving forward. According to Dan, this is when the most intrusive thoughts can make their way onto your bedside. Rest assured, friends, you’re not alone—keep the phantoms at bay and try your best next time.
A Phase of the Dark is a great way to begin the new year, offering an emotional guidebook for both good and bad decisions in 2025. Ride the catchy “whooooas” and “de-da-da-das” all the way to your next night out, sober get-together, or therapy appointment. Phantom Dan’s advice is some of the best we have, given how fucked up things can be: Bask in nostalgia if needed; enjoy the good times while they’re there; don’t beat yourself up too much; recognize bad habits; sleep it off if you need to.
Phantom Dan performs live in Atlanta at Boggs Social & Supply with Cult Potential, Kyle Lewis is a Boring Name, and Over Anna. Tickets are on sale here