Even if Americana-tinged rock isn’t your first listening choice, chances are it’s the first choice of an old friend or cousin. There’s a pleasant memory in the back of your mind tied to a twangy guitar and a drawling voice.
These sentimental notions make it one of the easiest kinds of music to approach. Which is likely why Phonograph has already appeared on a sampler disc from Jane magazine and opened for Wilco. Like Wilco, Phonograph blends the toe-tapping heart of country music with psychedelic effects and background sounds.
Their self-titled disc is one you can listen to as you drown your sorrows in Jack and Coke, or leave on in the background as you change the oil in your pickup. The lyrics are straightforward and universal (“I need to cut down on caffeine”), and each song has a hook.
The disc opens with a minute-long recording of fuzzy, muted male voices that sound like they’re from an old sci-fi film. At the minute mark, as guitars start to feed into the mix, it morphs into the second track, “In Your Mind.” “Waltz for Jonah” switches tempo and is built on sad saloon-style piano.
This is, as Phonograph calls it in their aptly titled song, “Nu Americana” – as American as the apple pie Jeff Tweedy’s mom must have made.
– Lori Barrett
Phonograph (Arclight Records)