The most recent album from Matthew Houck makes for a brilliant summer soundtrack, opening with the wonderfully upbeat It’s Hard To Be Humble (When You’re From Alabama), a multilayered tune with playful horns and a rockin’ bass line that make for a decidedly alt-country feel. Right off the bat you get a strong sense of Houck’s pride in his deep-south, country roots.
The album takes off in a similarly upbeat direction as the twangy guitar rises to the forefront in the album’s standout track The Mermaid Parade. This song is definitely an homage to the great country ballads, and is lavishly constructed with other instrumentals and supporting vocals. The lyrics in this song convey exasperation and heartbreak in the reticent style of a stoic country singer, as Houck almost sighs “But god damn it Amanda / Oh, god damn it all.” It’s easy to envision Houck singing this song about love lost to an empty bar in his home state of Alabama.
The lyrics in this album range from the quietly powerful to the lackluster and repetitive. I Don’t Care If There’s Cursing is the song most notably lacking in this sense, leaving little to no impression on the listener in terms of its lyrics. However, moments of this album that are lyrically uninspiring display some of its greatest musical successes, and this song in particular incorporates invigorating bass lines, artful keyboard solos and accomplished instrumentals from other members of the group. Such musical showcases in this song and others such as the thickly layered Hej, Me I’m Light make it seem like Houck is content to let the music do the talking when words might fail to express the depth of emotion behind his songs.
“Here’s To Taking It Easy” closes with the expansive journey of Los Angeles. Opening with a melancholic guitar solo, Los Angeles builds on itself, slowly introducing vocal harmonies and keyboard to fill the space between Houck’s lead vocals, while highlighting the bluesy guitar riffs throughout. A final meditation on loss, love and the possibility of the future, Los Angeles makes for a beautifully expressive end to a striking album.
Rating: 4.5/5
http://www.myspace.com/phosphorescent
Reviewed by Christina Alifrangis
“Here’s To Taking It Easy” is available at Road Records http://www.roadrecs.com
