Phosphorescent
The Weight Of Flight EP
(Warm)
With a full-length release a load of positive press (he's been compared to everyone from Bob Dylan to Kurt Cobain), Matthew Houck is back with a quick follow-up to last years debut of A Hundred Times Or More. Only in his early 20s, there's no doubt that Houck is a new young talent, and this 6 track, half-hour release will no doubt gain him even more acclaim.
On the opener of "Toes Out To Sea," it's easy to draw a line between the work of Will Oldham and that of Phosphorescent as well. The track moves with an almost ramshackle feel as piano and guitar mingle with minimal percussion as Houck adds his world-weary vocals to the whole ordeal, sounding a lot older and defeated than his age. "All Of It. All" moves at a similar pace, but adds another layer of grime to the sound as guitars and organs both growl with a slight edge and the whole track steps things up in terms of urgency. "When We Fall" takes the next logical step with a hand-clapping singalong barroom stomp.
One of the better tracks on the album is the almost 8-minute "Not Right, You Know." Although it starts out in fairly familiar territory, with just Houck singing over guitar, it slowly builds into a dense, epic track with wheezy accordion, piano, and soaring guitars. One of the only weaker spots on the album is actually a cover of an artist who likely is a big inspiration to Houck. "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys" is a fragile and nice version of the Willie Nelson track, but for some reason it feels a bit out-of-place on the short release (or maybe it's just the placement after the most upbeat track on the release). At any rate, The Weight Of Flight is a nice little release for any of the artists mentioned above, and you'll most likely be hearing even more about Houck in the future.
Rating: 7
