Phobophobes' “Moustache Mike” is an ominous ode to what may have never existed

Taking a road trip down the twisted highway of nostalgia, Ra-Ra Rok Records signees Phobophobes stew on the intrigue of socialite culture on their new track. From the opening, haunted-house synth waterfall to the references to Andy Warhol and the mysterious figure of “Moustache Mike”, the new single displays a unique brand of warped pop that Phobophobes make all their own.

Phobophobes' singer and guitarist Jamie Taylor describes the track's elusive title character as someone the band spent many a late night and early morning with. “'Moustache Mike' was the stage name of a performer we met and got swept up into the early hours with a little more than once,” he says. “To our shock and delight he lived in a gated luxury flat, top floor, massaging the algorithms for Amazon. Events would often take a turn for the strange up there, though this bluegrass Patrick Bateman was always a gentleman and generous host. Another of the bright, brilliant and sad characters that make up the vision of America through the verses.

“This odd situation carried on for a few weeks and was gone - vanished, with all the residue of a fever dream. His last known location was a shed in Portland somewhere. Godspeed, Mike.”

The track was inspired by high society culture of generations past, including socialite Baby Jane Holzer – a muse of Andy Warhol, namechecked in Roxy Music’s “Virginia Plain” and The Velvet Underground’s “Sweet Jane”.

“I actually went over to her house,” says Taylor. “I thought it’d be quite interesting to pair how she is now as an ageing socialite and the evolution of the American dream, from a dream to something else. It’s photogenic America disappearing. I can’t stand American politics, I can’t stand what they do to the planet, but at the same time there is a sort of intrigue from all sorts of eras, from the ‘50s to watching American TV when you were a kid. You’re still drawn to it.”

“Moustache Mike” is the second single from the band's upcoming second LP, following the similarly sinister single from last year, “Blind Muscle”. Accompanying the new track is a bizarre, tongue-in-cheek, “behind the scenes” video of C-movie level green screen work, further muddying the waters between the real and imagined. It's a perfect representation of a band and single that wonderfully walk the line between nostalgia and hallucination.