Welcome to 2012. Here’s one for the last year of our existence, Father John Misty’s duet with Phosphorescent on the Misty original, “I Would Love You.” MP3: Father John Misty & Phosphorescent :: I Would Love You

Phosphorescent’s sophomore LP, 2005′s Aw Come Aw Wry, is at its heart a folk record; albeit a folk record alternately made up of dirges, brass, waltzes, and choirs—a heady, if low-key, bouillabaisse of sound.  It also remains one of my favorite releases of that year. I put this one on late night, for the first [...]

Phosphorescent’s take on Neil Young’s “Are You Ready For The Country?” Culled from the companion disc accompanying the new issue of Mojo—Harvest Revisited—Matthew Houck and co. stay true to the arrangement Neil and the Stray Gators worked up on the original. MP3: Phosphorescent :: Are You Ready For The Country? ——————— ____________________________________________________________________________________

One of the achievements of Phosphorescent’s ode to Willie was how comfortable Matthew Houck was at interpreting (or reinterpreting) Willie Nelson. It wasn’t just that he carefully selected songs that had mostly filtered out of the cadre of Willie popularity. But he was also succeeding the wintry folk soul-lashing of Pride just two years prior. [...]

Latest offering from Matthew Houck (Phosphorescent). Look for the new LP, Here’s To Taking It Easy, out May 11th via Dead Oceans. MP3: Phosphorescent :: It’s Hard to Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama) ——————— + Download Phosphorescent via eMusic’s 25 free MP3 no risk trial offer ____________________________________________________________________________________

Country music, at its best, is a dark apologetic for mystery.  Like most things, it’s got its glitzy side, the side that it’s convinced itself that it wants the public to see.  But once its Nashville sheen is scraped off, country is a dark, penetrating, and mysterious force that cuts away until it reaches a [...]

Willie Nelson is – no argument – among the five best living songwriters on either side of the pond. Sure, lately he’s become more interested in preserving his image as America’s Stoned Grandpa than he is in making the aching sort of music he made back when he was still an actual red-headed stranger, but [...]

Download: MP3: Phosphorescent :: A Picture of Our Torn Up Praise ——— Amazon: Phosphorescent – Pride + Download Phosphorescent via eMusic’s 25 free MP3 no risk trial offer ——————————————————————————————————————————-

Despite this nagging cold (aka, post-sxsw hangover), last nights sold-out AD Presents show, at the Echo, was the kind of kick in the ass I needed to get me through to the weekend. Casey Dienel (performing solo as White Hinterland) opened the show, before Matthew Houck and company took the stage, bathed in warm feedback, [...]

Released this week, Pride, the latest full-length from Phosphorescent, finds Matthew Houck and company improving on the recipe that first drew us in (two-plus years ago) with release of his second album Aw Come, Aw Wry. An Elephant 6 like mixture, filtered, through, say, Bonnie Prince” Billy, it became one of our favorite LPs of [...]