[ALBUM REVIEW] Big Phony – “Long Live the Lie” & “Bobby”

Big Phony unveils a double feature with Long Live The Lie and Bobby. Long Live The Lie is quite different from what avid listeners of Big Phony are accustomed to while Bobby is more of what fans may be used to and is all about him. Big Phony experiments with electronic sounds in this album; this album sounds a bit folk and a bit electronica. If you like Group Love, Bright Eye, and Death Cab for Cutie then you’ll enjoy Big Phony’s sound. All of his songs have a cohesive sound thus making both albums solid. Let’s break down both albums’ most noteworthy tracks with an informal review of some of this tracks.

Long Live The Lie || Big Phony

Tracklist:
1. A Charge to the Blood
2. All Bets Are Off
3. The Great I Am
4. No Need to Hang Your Head
5. The Hours
6. Bedford Stop
7. Long Live the Lie
8. Help of a Ghost
9. Empty Bottles
10. Waiting On a Breeze (Without a Word)

All Bets Are Off reminds us to leave the past behind and to just move on and embrace the future. Big Phony’s honest lyrics speak to me and surely everyone else who can relate. We usually allow the past to get the best of us but we really should only learn from the experience our past teaches us and make room for a brighter future.

To those who have lost someone they’ve loved, The Hours is a track for you. Big Phony wrote this song with his father in mind. When he was 17, it was becoming clear to his family that they might lose his father to health complications. His father eventually passed away but the feeling of wanting to hold on has always stayed with Big Phony. It’s a track where anyone can empathize with the lyrics. This song is the most emotional and probably one of my favorites aside from the album’s title track.

I’m a sucker for catchy title songs and Long Live the Lie is no exception. This is my favorite track plus it doesn’t have the depressing tone like most of the other songs. Big Phony says the song is about the social acceptability of trends coming and going. “Often we’re told what is ‘cool’ even though these things, these fads, they always fade away. Really though…how can we live without them?” Trends—wanna hate them, gotta love them. I can see this song being used for some electronics commercial—preferably either Apple or Samsung, can we make this happen?

There’s a ghost for the Christmas past, present, and future, but why can’t we have a ghost of lovers’ past to tell us what we did wrong in our past relationships? Help of a Ghost is about losing love but not being sure when and where things went wrong. It’s a sentiment that many people can relate to.

Bobby || Big Phony

Tracklist:
1. Bedford Stop
2. But I Will, Everyday
3. Waiting On a Breeze
4. She’s the Kind of Girl
5. Before You Can Leave Me
6. Diana, Don’t Be Late
7. Enough to Drive Me Mad
8. Hush Now, Baby
9. Goodbye, CA

Bobby is a self-titled album that is a simultaneous release with Long Live the Lie. These songs weren’t recorded professionally so we get to hear the tracks in their raw form. These songs represents where Big Phony is in life—“broke financially and in resources but still committed to the journey as an artist.” Listeners got to see Big Phony for who he is—imperfect like his songs. Bobby is an acoustic album written in the classic Big Phony style with his signature soft and moody vocals, accompanied by his lingering and evocative guitar. Most of the songs are about leaving and separation, which were relevant to his life while leaving LA for Seoul, Korea.

“What would it be like if I had a sister” was what Big Phony asked himself in Bedford Stop. This song was written for his imaginary sister, who he’d expect to be somewhat hipster and too cool for him. This song makes you appreciate your siblings even if you find them bothersome. “She would probably be too cool for me and would live somewhere hip like Williamsburg and would probably want nothing to do with me. I’d still love her though.”

She’s the Kind of Girl is pretty generic, he admitted. The song is about the feelings one might go through over someone they’re attracted to. The feelings—the butterflies in your belly and walking on a cloud—those are the types of feelings that the song expresses. It isn’t like the usual upbeat bubblegum pop generic songs and thank goodness for that.

Enough to Drive Me Mad, Before You Can Leave Me, and Diana, Don’t Be Late has the same theme of leaving and letting go of someone. Whether feeling unworthy enough or just being selfish for trying to hold on, these songs expresses these sad feelings. Since these songs are acoustic, the rawness of them give off a haunted and sad emotion that compliment the lyrics.

Goodbye, CA is the last song Big Phony wrote before leaving for Korea. Not sure if he’s too fond of California but he did at least feel more like himself here than in New York. Truthfully, he knew that the day of him leaving would come. He left for Korea, where his family originated, to pursue a new breath of fresh air and perhaps find a place where he belongs.

Big Phony’s music isn’t for everyone but one does have to appreciate his honest lyrics. If you’re wondering why he calls himself “Big Phony,” it’s because it’s a reminder for him to not be one. His sad songs aren’t meant to break through mainstream music; he rather be truthful in writing his sad and depressing songs than to sell out. Big Phony wants to promote a certain authenticity in imperfection of real life experiences hence the reason and vital force behind his music. Big Phony is currently in Korea and prepping for SXSW in Texas. Check him out and support his music if you have the chance. His albums are available on Big Phony’s website.