Features : When Something Gone Is Still Present: Zach Adams and the Ghosts of “Phantom Love”

It’s the guitar solo that grabs the attention in “Phantom Love,” the new single by Alaska-based artist, Zach Adams. With nods to Prince, Adrian Belew, and the Eric Clapton solo on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” the frenetic phrasing and industrial sound elevate the angsty and personal track into the territory of proper rock anthems.

“Phantom Love” explores a familiar theme — heartbreak — in unexpected ways. Thunderous drums and lofi vocals underscore keyboards and guitars that create harmonic uncertainty wavering between major and minor. The music’s elusive quality echoes the “ghosts” in the lyrics:

…my phantom love
Hearing you in every sound
Feels like I'm surrounded by the ghost of you
Throwing my things against the wall

That supernatural quality is not surprising. In addition to writing music, Zach Adams is also the author of fantasy novel Dead Man Walking. “Phantom Love” will be part of a forthcoming full-length album which explores characters and scenes from the book.

The song began as a creative challenge. “I was playing in punk and metal bands at the time,” Adams says, “and I wanted to write something completely different. Softer, more melodic, maybe even pop.” The first draft of the song came in 2019, with influence from bands like Muse, Arctic Monkeys, and Alice in Chains. It wasn’t until a breakup years later that the lyrics clicked.

“I was thinking of the concept behind a phantom limb, how something that is gone still feels present. Heartbreak can be like that. You keep hearing their voice. You feel them even when they’re not there.”

Adams composed and recorded most of the song in a home studio equipped with FL Studio. Drums were performed by Jonathon Valentine. Adams’s friend Samantha Palisoc — whom Adams met in a karaoke event — recorded a guest vocal track. These various personalities combine to make “Phantom Love” a truly collaborative creation.

Growing up in Anchorage, Zach Adams first learned to play the drums (initially influenced by a musical father), then developed into a multi-instrumentalist, fiction writer, and founder of Splitting Adams Entertainment, a platform for the artist’s music, writing, and other future projects. Adams previously launched an Alaskan music festival, Spacefest, that forged deep connections to the local scene.

With Dead Man Walking set for release later this year, Adams is eyeing a return to live performance and new creative chapters. “I don’t have a specific message I’m trying to send. I just want to make art I love, and hope it resonates with someone else.”

The anthemic and mysterious qualities of “Phantom Love” will indeed resonate with other restless souls seeking the transformative power of rock. Check out “Phantom Love” now on Spotify, or wherever you listen to music.

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