Pride is a modern folk marvel. Each song on Phosphorescent’s third album is given a baptism in reverb, lending an eerie glow to eight beautiful, sparse tracks.
Songwriter Matthew Houck’s songs are steeped in an Appalachian musical tradition (Houck was raised in Alabama), with a spooky ambience perpetuated by subtle effects and the buzz of organs. The result is a varied, eclectic set.
Leadoff track “A Picture of Our Torn Up Praise” opens with an odd mix of hushed guitars and a louder, quirky chorus of high-pitched vocals. It’s jarring, but grows into a beautiful combination and builds a melodic momentum.
“Be Dark Night” has a gospel sound, its vocals soothing and pretty. Houck breaks into a louder, more harshly rocking mode on “At Death, A Proclamation,” recalling a heavier Bonnie “Prince” Billy or a darker Iron & Wine.
The album’s great epic is “My Dove, My Lamb,” which stretches through seven verses. It’s one of four tracks longer than six minutes, each one graceful and powerful, revealing Houck’s strength at not only writing great songs, but keeping them interesting for extended periods of time.
“Cocaine Lights” is another such example, using bizarre imagery of blood “clicking” in the kitchen. It, like all of Pride, is beautiful and strange.
– Jeff Terich
Phosphorescent: www.saltandblues.com
Dead Oceans: www.deadoceans.com