now that is a review.
the recent august 5 forty watt show was the first time i've seen phosphorescent. i thought it was an amazing set, and i may have a new favorite band in town. i should have expected as much, based on the words of praise offered by The Poet (who is close friends with the band's lead player, matthew).
i was looking up their tour dates, thinking i might recommend them to my sister (who lives in philly). unfortunately they're not playing there. but i did come upon a snippet of acclaim for matthew [pre band] that is so glowingly positive i felt i had to share it:
"...he may prove to be the most significant american in his field since kurt cobain" gushed the London Evening Standard after a show in London, adding "this twenty-one year old wonder kid squashed any concept that he's the new bob dylan in town by virtue of his own enormous talent."
sometimes reviews are very positive in a way that's revolting. but that appraisal is SO glowing that for me it somehow takes it back the other direction. the assertions are so bold that i'm genuinely impressed by the audaciousness of the reviewer who made them.
i was looking up their tour dates, thinking i might recommend them to my sister (who lives in philly). unfortunately they're not playing there. but i did come upon a snippet of acclaim for matthew [pre band] that is so glowingly positive i felt i had to share it:
"...he may prove to be the most significant american in his field since kurt cobain" gushed the London Evening Standard after a show in London, adding "this twenty-one year old wonder kid squashed any concept that he's the new bob dylan in town by virtue of his own enormous talent."
sometimes reviews are very positive in a way that's revolting. but that appraisal is SO glowing that for me it somehow takes it back the other direction. the assertions are so bold that i'm genuinely impressed by the audaciousness of the reviewer who made them.
posted by Huevos McGringo at
11:07 AM
5 Comments:
i'm guessing the reviewer has never heard of this thing called drag city records or the individual known as will oldham. that's not a dis on matthew, but on the reviewer.
it's funny you mention oldham. the record label promo that i pulled that snippet from went on to say the following about the first phosphorescent album:
A Hundred Times Or More seems to fall somewhere in the middle of the works of Will Oldham, Jeff Mangum and, indeed, the young Bob Dylan. Rough cut, yet solid, it unfolds and unfurls and reveals itself to be a masterful, powerful thing, dense and dark, coiled and restless.
obviously those analogies are silly ambitious. and of course that's the label's opinion. and the london review could in fact be a crackpot. but it does make me curious to check out the record.
I like Matthew's songs a lot, but I will say that it feels like Will Oldham playing with Neutral Milk Hotel quite a bit. Just sayin'. Of course, I've been accused of being in Wilco, so go figure.
according to their myspace profile, they're playing in philly on sept. 28th. there's no music on their profile or on their webpage (what the hell?!), so i can't add my two cents worth --but comparisons to Will Oldham make me curious.
for the record, i just bought and listened to "a hundred times or more." i'm not saying it's "blood on the tracks", but it is pretty fucking badass.
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