Psychic Lines

BIOGRAPHY

Psychic Lines is the work of Phil Jacob, a Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter, musician and producer. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he spent his childhood moving state to state before settling in Louisville, Kentucky. As a teen in the nineties, his initial music efforts involved sampling and electronic sequencing, but a fascination with the thriving Louisville indie scene soon led him to the electric guitar and the world of four-track recording.

After relocating to Brooklyn in 2003, Jacob continued writing and recording while backing singer-songwriter Zachary Cale as a multi-instrumentalist and participating in an eclectic array of other projects, including a Captain Beefheart tribute band called Admiral Porkbrain and the collaborative quintet Vague Plot. The first Psychic Lines album, Cubicle Puppets, came out in 2008 and the fifth album Sunset on Sunset is set to be released on August 23, 2024.

As a trio, Psychic Lines currently consists of Dann Baker (Love Camp 7, Eljin Marbles) on bass, Nancy Polstein (Girls on Grass) on drums, and Phil Jacob on guitar and alto sax.

Whether accompanied by a band, fingerpicked guitar, or piano, Jacob’s songs often feel like short stories with unreliable narrators and characters that confuse the line between dream and reality. The result is reminiscent of Stephin Merritt and Leonard Cohen, with some of Warren Zevon’s self-deprecating humor and Randy Newman’s satire.