Dear Banana Phonetic:

I’m getting the impression that this is the beginning of the end. Last Friday at Precinct seemed like Banana Phonetic’s Last Waltz, price so to speak, check even if it wasn’t. The crowd certainly acted like it, fairly worshipping you throughout with song-alongs and celebratory cheers with tall boys, as you played through your entire repertoire. It was pretty awesome to hear your anthology, an experience I won’t forget, especially now in the twilight of your career. I know you guys are just about to release a new EP, but I also know that Andy Bickerton lives in New York now, and that you’re giving people the idea that you won’t be around much anymore. I’m sure a lot of people have told you that sucks, but I want to reiterate it.

Since I moved to Allston in 2008, and first stumbled upon your music by attending a friend’s  show you happened to headline, Banana Phonetic has been the epitome of consistency. Whether dropping a new album or playing a weeknight set at Great Scott, you made damn sure the listeners got more than what they paid for. You have been exceptionally well rehearsed, while exuding a jovial and casual attitude that set the mood at every venue you played. You take time to interact with your audience. At Precinct, when your friends and fans started giving you shit, you were sure to return the favor, politely encouraging everyone to go fuck themselves, and asking for assistance from the nonexistent security guards. Then you played “Anna Lee”. I got a good laugh, then focused again on the stage, enveloped by my favorite BP tune.

You’ve managed to do what a lot of musicians aspire to when they first set out. You’ve created pop music for people with taste. For me, I always thought you combined the slow-motion pop sound and ethereal bridge sections of Coldplay with all of the quirks and vocal potpourri of The Flaming Lips. It also doesn’t hurt that Akhil Bhatt sounds like a raspy Wayne Coyne. The music is just weird enough to be undeniably cool, but coherent enough to listen to an entire album in one sitting. I often caught you guys playing on a bill with a friend’s band, and it usually tipped the scale of whether or not I would drag my lazy ass out that night.

And now, it looks like it’s over. You will go the way of those before you, like You Can Be a Wesley, or your buddies in Forest Henderson, once again emerging from obscurity for a “reunion” show once in a blue moon. I think that blows, but mostly because I’m selfish. I want you all to stick around and keep at it, because your work has single handedly increased the overall quality of music in the neighborhood. But I know you all have other shit to do, and that you will still be around in some capacity. I just want to thank you for putting in years of work that made a well respected staple in the Boston music scene. Hopefully someone will be able to fill your shoes one day. Until then, I’ll listen to The Facts of Evolution on repeat from time to time, and lament the loss of another cornerstone in local music.

Sincerely,
Nate Thompson