^{Phia Moore plays a live session at Brandy Melville Studios on July 29. Moore performed her new songs “people pleaser” and “loose ends” as well as “Funeral” by Phoebe Bridgers. (Sofia Hopkins)}

By Sofia Hopkins

“Songwriting has really saved me and made it so I can function in the world.”

These are the words of Long Beach singer-songwriter Phia Moore. Her newest EP “what color is your monster?” combines themes of growing up and grief with cartoon visuals that immerse the listener into Moore’s world. 

Before Moore was releasing music and playing concerts at Writer’s Round in Fullerton, she was finding her sound in a middle school choir taught by her mentor, Tom Kell. 

“It was just such an eye-opening experience. This love that I had had for something all clicked in place, from there Mr. Kell really took me under his wing and I learned ukulele and the guitar and started song writing,” Moore said.

From there, Moore found her love for the storytelling featured in Americana folk music. During the pandemic, when her mom joked that she “needed a hobby,” Moore signed up for an online songwriting class that would eventually lead her to bigger things. 

Moore’s music is centered around sadness, an emotion she feels is beautiful despite the fact that people often shy away from it out of fear. 

Moore’s debut EP, “group therapy,” is an uncensored testament to the grief she felt when Kell, her choir director from middle school, died.

“He was like family, so songwriting then was a way to keep this important person alive in my life and a way to process grief, which is an ongoing journey. I was so young when I wrote ‘group therapy’, but I still relate with that girl who wrote that. I feel like it’s not as fresh of a wound, but it will always be a wound,” Moore said. 

Since “group therapy,” Moore has gotten older, bringing new topics to her storytelling that she shares with her listeners in “what color is your monster?”

“I think of my EPs as different worlds. I wouldn’t have written this at 18,” Moore said.

^{Phia Moore plays a live session at Brandy Melville Studios on July 29. Moore performed her new songs “people pleaser” and “loose ends” as well as “Funeral” by Phoebe Bridgers. (Sofia Hopkins)}

Moore makes it her mission to invite her audience into her world with her music.

“My goal with my art is not just to make a sound that people can listen to but to also make something that can really englulfe themself in, that comes from the Phoebe Bridgers, Taylor Swift, and Noah Cyrus’s of the world,” Moore said. 

Each song on “what color is your monster?” is accompanied by a character drawn by a friend of Moore’s.

Beyond that, Moore has included several easter eggs within her music for her audience to find.

The idea of having ‘monsters’ is not new in Moore’s music, and she often alludes to past songs in her releases. Her song “strawberry jam” from 2023 even has a line that says “back then you had monsters in your room.”

Moore describes that her new EP deals with feeling “too much” and not knowing where to put it.

“This part of myself is kind of scary and I don’t always like it , but it also makes me who I am and there are beautiful parts to the scary parts of ourselves,” Moore said. 

Whether it’s about a younger version of herself that isn’t ready to grow up or letting your love fall onto other people, Moore’s music is authentically raw.

“If I am going to make art, my why is always going to be to make people feel less alone and to impact people,” Moore said.

Moore is set to play a concert on Friday at the State Social House in West Hollywood at 7:30 p.m.

“what color is your monster?” has been two years in the making, and it is now available on Spotify and Apple Music.