Music Snitch

Looks like the folkish delight, Phosphorescent, will be releasing a new album entitled, ‘Here’s to Taking it Easy’, on May 11th via Dead Oceans.

Here’s a little bit of album insight (Dead Oceans):
Featuring the current live incarnation of Phosphorescent (Scott Stapleton, piano; Jeff Bailey, bass; Chris Marine, drums; Jesse Anderson Ainslie, guitar; Ricky Ray Jackson, pedal steel), ‘Here’s to Taking It Easy’ is the new Cosmic American Music.  Recorded in the band’s hometown of Brooklyn with outside mixing assistance from Stuart Sikes (White Stripes, Cat Power, Loretta Lynn, the Walkmen), this album breathes with life like nothing Phosphorescent has ever done before.  “We’ll Be Here Soon” and “Hej, Me I’m Light” hint at the narcotic haze of Pride, while anthems like “The Mermaid Parade” and “It’s Hard to Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama)” sound perfect pumped out of the car stereo with the windows rolled down. “Heaven, Sittin’ Down” recalls the country rock of To Willie, while the stark album closer, “Los Angeles” sounds as if it was lifted from the grooves of Neil Young’s On the Beach.

Take A Listen: It’s Hard To Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama) from Phosphorescent

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Download: It’s Hard To Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama) (Right click on link and select “Save Target As” in IE or “Save Link As” in Firefox)

Until today I had never heard of the band, Phosphorescent, and to be frank, it was really their upcoming tour partner’s name (Mr. David Gray) that caught my attention in the inbox.  That being said, boy oh boy, am I glad I took the time to get acquainted with Phosphorescent. As of now I’ve only listened to a few songs, but I absolutely plan on perusing their music collection, which apparently consists of one album released in 2007 (‘Pride’).  My first impression of Phosphorescent was formed during the slow, folksy track, “Wolves”, and while I’m not sure if that’s their best foot forward (me = unfamiliar with their music), it was definitely a strong, alluring foot.

Take A Listen: Wolves from Phosphorescent

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Download: Wolves (Right click on link and select “Save Target As” in IE or “Save Link As” in Firefox)

It looks as if Phosphorescent is getting prepared to release an homage type album next month entitled, ‘To Willie’…wonder what “Willie” it could possibly be, perhaps Willie Aames of Charles In Charge?  Also, as alluded to earlier, the band is about to hit the road alongside David Gray, and the story behind how that came to fruition is pretty cool (see below).

From Dead Ocean Records: Last fall, Phosphorescent bassist Jeff Bailey is watching a primetime news show when British songwriter David Gray appears for an interview. The interviewer inquires as to what Gray is listening to on his iPod and he responds, “Frank Sinatra, and an album called Pride by Phosphorescent.” We were admittedly skeptical, but upon doing a quick internet search, we found Gray singing the praises of Phosphorescent to Entertainment Weekly and a Spin review of a David Gray performance, which mentions that Gray opened the show by, “emerging from the darkness to the narcotic strains of Phosphorescent’s ‘Cocaine Lights’.”

A month or so passes and then something even more unexpected happens. An email shows up in the inbox of Phosphorescent’s Matthew Houck from Gray himself, with enthusiastic support for the music and an open ended invitation to open any of Gray’s upcoming tour dates. Phosphorescent accepted the invite and will soon be hitting the road with Gray throughout the United States and Europe.

Check out Phosphorescent tour dates here.