2025 has been a milestone year for New Zealand dream-pop band Phoebe Rings, who supported Japanese Breakfast and The Beths on tour while releasing their debut album Aseurai via Carpark Records. The record drew critical praise, with Pitchfork calling it “alternately chill, cosmic, and cosmopolitan,” and Paste describing it as “sharply in the pocket that makes them terrific.”
Now, ahead of their first U.S. tour, the Tāmaki Makaurau quartet have returned with a stunning reinterpretation of Beach House’s “Astronaut” from the 2008 album Devotion. The band says the song aligned perfectly with their celestial aesthetic—fitting, given that Phoebe Rings take their name from Saturn’s outer ring—and reflected shared melodic sensibilities. “For a few of us, those first two Beach House albums stand out as being very formative,” notes drummer Alex Freer.
Phoebe Rings’ version trades drum machines for live bass and percussion, adding pedal steel and omnichord to bring the track into their lush soundscape. Crystal Choi’s ethereal vocals glide through the song’s soaring climax, joined by Kavanagh-Vincent on harmonies and grounded by Locke’s buoyant bass lines. The result is a faithful yet deeply personal homage to one of dream-pop’s defining acts.