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Reviews
Phosphorescent - Aw Come Aw Wry (Misra, 2005)
Here in Orange County, buried deep within the Sixth Ring of the Chapman Radio headquarters' building, it is sometimes hard to even remember what the 'outside' looks like. The memories I do have are mostly filled with fun and sunshine, surfing and palm trees, Seth and Marissa; but recently we have been stricken by a horrible spell of rain (approximately one whole evening: off and on), which has morphed itself into a hideous metaphorical creature- an evil groom who has shrouded even us, the reclusive music-loving community, in a dark vale of depression, forced us to don the black dress of gloom, and led us down the aisle with the rest of the formerly sunny-eyed population south of Los Angeles, saturating the ocean-laced air in our native paradise with big'ole drops of unmitigated sadness. And only then, in the middle of this morbid service, did we receive Phosphorescent’s Aw Come Aw Wry.
It was at this point that Orange County was able to witness true dejection as we listened and languished through one melancholy folk-country ballad after the other. Aw Come Aw Wry is Matthew Houck's sophomore effort as the one man country band Phosphorescent, but contrary to the extended metaphor, the album is far from completely cheerless. Indeed its heavyheartedness is its most genuine aspect. The vehicle of this innate sadness is his utterly unprofessional and raw vocal performance. This is Phosphorescent’s most distinguishing feature, lending to the comparison to, most aptly and notably, indie-rock’s reigning melancholy 'prince' Will Oldham.
There are standout tracks distributed evenly throughout the album, but the third, 'Joe Tex, These Taming Blues' is the most lyrically insightful and musically cr
My Rating: 4.5 Starseative (through its use of horns). The songs opening lyric, "Is it ever gonna' not be so hard to see you around?" suddenly made our rainy day blues seem that much less important. We were almost in tears as Houck metaphorically belittles our existence once again: "We came upon a bunch of rabies and there isn't nothin' all us little animals can do."
Furthermore, it is impossible not to fall in love with such solid chord progressions and vocal passion as is displayed on 'Dead Heart' when Houck asks, "Cousin don’t you know?" Granted the song drags a little bit in the beginning, but it’s worth it for the final two minutes. 'I Am A Full Grown Man' is also a song worthy of note and many-a-listen.
These standout tracks, which are of considerable quality and quantity, are interrupted by the primary flaw of the album: the 'Aw Come Aw Wry' intermissions. Houck was attempting to develop a theme, but repeating this line with various instrumentations hardly does so- instead, it is rather annoying. A few other small problems exist; the endlessness of 'Endless Part 2' and the attempted artiness of 'Nowhere Rd…' Nevertheless, the good far out way the bad and, for a sophomore album, this is a tremendous effort and a really genuine record.
Ross Mann
Chapman Radio (www.chapmanradio.com)