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Phosphorescent Album: "The Weight of Flight" Label: Warm Records 3.5 out of 5 stars
Call it neo-folk, alt-country or acoustic drone, but for a style of music bloated with wannabes and never-has-beens, Matthew Houck is making a name for himself with "The Weight of Flight" EP. Recording under the name Phosphorescent, which at first seems like an odd choice for this lo-fi country hybrid, Houck is the only real member of the band.
With a cracked voice and a loose playing style, Houck is a true musical gamble. He unfortunately has to rely on his charisma and depth to carry what would be an otherwise uninspired sound. And I am sure all of us have been to enough bad open mic nights at coffee shops to know what a letdown that can be.
At a mere 29 minutes, this EP feels done before it ever gets a chance to grow beyond the ragged borders of Phosphorescent's musical shores. Often EPs are viewed as just a stop on the path between albums, but this one is genuinely a deviation for Houck, and if that's all he's going to give us, well, it's worth more than just a cursory glance. For those of you trying to grasp what Houck might sound like, he exists in that singer/songwriter vein in which Will Oldham of Palace fame, old Wilco and Rhett Miller so comfortably reside in their own shaggy way.
His songs range from the quiet, contemplative opener "Toes Out to Sea" to the stomping, off-kilter gospel track "When We Fall." He even manages to find new meaning in the Willie Nelson classic "My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys." For an album this short, there is a surprisingly strong showing of good tracks.
Houck's "Weight of Flight" may be eclipsed by the smash success of Wilco's newest release, but for those of you wanting a reincarnation of a classic sound, this is a good place to start. It's out of key and poorly engineered, but that doesn't mean out of heart or poorly executed. Houck has the ability to make you feel like you are right by his side on some bleak porch watching the phosphorescent fireflies and wishing for just one more "sad country song."
- Sam Monreal
Hangar 18 Album: "The Multi Platinum Debut Album" Label: Definitive Jux 3 out of 5 stars
Haven't heard it? "Where you at?" Def Jux just dropped "The Multi Platinum Debut Album" by Hangar 18 in June and it's something a little different for the prestigious NYC label. A trio of Jukies, consisting of Alaska and Windnbreeze of Atoms Family, and El-P stunt double DJ/producer paWL (Cannibal Ox, Aesop Rock), offers a slight juxtaposition to traditional Def Jux jams.
The leading single " Where You At" kicks it off with a kind of club, Knight Rider beat and leaves you with a taste of Outkast in your mouth. Perhaps it's the speed of the beat in double time or the syllabic lyrical fitness in songs like "Go Git That" and "Saved by the Breezy," which may be their most finely crafted tracks, where emcees Alaska and Wind lyrically stretch their legs and conjure up some amusing wordplay.
On a different note, Hangar 18 puts down a couple of emotional, hard-hitting songs reminiscent of 9/11 and the death of DJ/producer paWL's father ("Take No Chances").
In addition to the b-boy styles and boom-bap breaks in the shadows of El-P, "The Multi Platinum Debut Album" also includes a short turntable "Interlude" by paWL. But before long, the music returns to its natural state of sound-bombing quickness and synthesizing New York City nightlife ("Barhopping").
Though not quite "hotter than Susanne Somers in the Sudan summer," it's definitely a hot ticket if you're into the quick lips of emcees such as Busta Rhymes. Aside from some electro-funk beats and the emo-rap, Alaska and Wind are, undoubtedly, lyrically able, and they seriously kill it on a handful of tracks. With 16 songs that are for the most part foreign to the traditional tight styles of Jukie city, it'll be interesting to see Hangar 18 sling a million units and live up to "The Multi Platinum Debut Album" title.
- Adrian Dickerson
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