Phytö – Like Poles (2026)
With a sound that swerves from alternative rock to high-energy funk, South Korean group Phytö (pronounced py-toe) hit listeners ears in 2025 with rock-driven, double-sided single ‘For Sweet. (Scabiosa)’. Despite having only two singles on Spotify – three if you count the track we’re about to review – the band is already turning heads internationally with rave reviews in notable media, slowly building a fanbase on a global scale. Alternative & Indie Links already have Phytö’s single ‘Like Poles’ noted as “your evening’s new alt track to turn up loud!” Do we agree? Let’s find out.
Phytö’s first step into 2026, ‘Like Poles’ retains their rock vibe of last year, but adds something extra to the alt-rock groove. On one side, the funk-heavy tone floods in with its smooth, comforting, and head-bopping notes. On the other side, the punchy guitar and drums take you on a head-swirling rollercoaster. Collision in one way, funk and rock butt heads tossing you from one degree of warmth and heaviness to the other. However, just as the crash of genres has a disarming effect, the drums, guitars, bass and rock-inflexed vocals bind in a harmonic tapestry.
A song of contradictions, ‘Like Poles’ is bold with a subdued cheekiness, confident with a slight air of frustration, energetic but still soothing, sincere but an in-your-face gesture, urgent but languid – all in all, organised chaos in a multi-coloured teapot. Interestingly, just as the title suggests, the song is descriptive of opposite poles meeting, and not only melodically but lyrically. Phytö explains:
“Lyrically, ‘Like Poles’ spins the frustration of unrequited love into a physics metaphor – too people too alike to ever connect, repelling like magnets. Energetic enough for a festival stage, yet grounded in painfully relatable awkwardness.”
As the opening taster of Phytö’s full-length album, ‘Like Poles’ introduces the high-voltage group as one to make you laugh, cry, dance and bounce about in excited glee.
Find out more about Phytö on their X, Instagram, TikTok, Bandcamp, Soundcloud and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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