UPSAHL, our recent Cover Girl, has begun releasing some new music in a novel way — an eventual album, to come out at the end of the year, staggered in installments of two songs every several weeks. She’s calling the project THE PHX TAPES, which sort of sounds like tapes for an airport, but in fact is meant to invoke her birthplace, Phoenix.
“I’ve been so inspired writing songs since the beginning of the year,” she explains, “and I have so many songs that I’ve been sharing with friends, like I did growing up in Phoenix. It reminded me of the way people used to share music on cassette tapes. That was obviously before my time, but I just loved the idea and spirit of it. Like so punk. So I’m releasing 2 songs at a time this year, an A Side and a B Side. A little something for everybody.”
The first two songs, which you’ve probably heard, because I’m slow as molasses and the internet is not, are called “Good Girl Era” and “Condoms,” and the juxtaposition is pretty obvious.
Also Read
15 Artists to Watch in 2023
“The theme of this project is not giving a fuck. I feel like I’ve spent a lot of my career trying to figure out which box I fit into, when at the end of the day, I don’t want a fucking box… ‘Good Girl Era’ is about me actually following my New Year’s Resolutions at the beginning of the year when I got back from tour. I was craving stability at the time, but once I got it — entered my “good girl era” — I realized that I enjoyed the chaos wayyyy more.
“‘Condoms’ is about wrapping condoms around my heart, and being emotionally unavailable. I wanted to get really experimental with the production and vocal production on this one, and we got to go to places I’ve never gone before creatively.”
“Condoms” is also about, you know, buying condoms.
What are the next two songs about, asks your reporter, innocently?
“Ooooh… The next two songs feel like I want to dance to them all summer. Without giving too much away, they’re sexy, vulnerable, and have some of my favorite lyrics I’ve written…”
(Well done, reporter! You got precisely nothing out of her there.)
Why not actually put out a special cassette version of this when you’re done?
“You’re right… Why not?”
