2 years ago, apparently, a band called Phosphorescent released an album called Aw Come Aw Wry. I never heard peep about it, but I don't get around much. I swirl around the windy streets of my neighbourhood and the neighbouring neighbourhoods, but I really don't go much farther than that. Anyway, excuses aside, I missed this album when it was new, so I'll appreciate it now. (thank you, Michael S.)
A hot stumbly waltz. Like a flower, a drunk daisy, ambles dazedly down the street, to home, alone. The neon buzzes and bounces off her upturned collar, too short to reach her chilly petal ears. A bad night for one daisy, from this perspective. A few quiet rejections, a lot of sips to fill a silence, or to look around the room, and a lot of "fresh" smiles, the way an actor delivers a line "fresh" every night. Because, as everyone knows, daisies can't speak English, or any human language, so life in the city is hard.
The album is mired, sunken, drenched, in the chords of the "Aw Come Aw Wry" refrain, which starts this song. Something I haven't seen so clear and used so well since On Avery Island, and it's not the only similarity. Shades of many other artists are here, but I'm not interested in getting caught on that. Instead, I want you to be hypnotized, intoxicated by the drone beneath the falling, tapered melody. I want you to be pulled in and down, like the kind of pull an undertow must feel like, until all of a sudden it all lifts, or falls further, who cares, into a pink and foggy yell.
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Happy Birthday, Sarah.
Posted by Dan at May 7, 2007 1:24 AMMatthew's moved from Athens to NYC now, and I really miss having him around here. So glad you discovered a wonderful band and a wonderful record.
Posted by Lucas Jensen at May 7, 2007 1:50 PMi think 'aw come aw wry' is one of the best albums there's been in recent years. i love the way he's almost made it a concept album with 'aw come aw wry' as the theme. and how the melody of the 'aw come aw wry' songs appear in the middle of other tracks and so do the harmonies from 'endless'. this is turning into some kind of thesis on that album, but thankyoualotformakingmehappybypostingaboutit! you must, must, must, must, must see him live if you get the chance. that's directed at anybody and everybody. i'll stop.
Posted by emily at May 8, 2007 4:27 PMand and and 'joe tex...' has the best lyrics in the world. nobody else could pull off using 'us's'.
Posted by emily at May 8, 2007 4:53 PMalso an Athens reader- my favorite Phosphorescent release is The Weight of Flight. Killer cover of My Heroes have always been Cowboys and When We Fall- one of my favorite songs of all time.
The sky tonight at sunset looked like God himself/feeding diamonds to his horses made of gold/and the secret here you know is that I love you so/ I don't want your heart below
Posted by helen at May 16, 2007 12:03 PMthat was one if my fav albums of 2005
Posted by satisfied75 at May 20, 2007 8:00 PMI saw Matthew play the night before this post went up and as always the show was damn near breathtaking. Sooner or later people will (en masse) get the magic of Aw Come Aw Wry, I just know it. And yes to helen, When We Fall is an all time favorite for me, too.
Posted by Hannah at June 11, 2007 6:30 PMWhat month/year was Della Reese's "Don't You Know" released?
Posted by Gregory Wm. Schmidt at December 18, 2007 12:44 PM
and it will begin playing. All songs are also available to download: just right-click the link and choose 'Save as...'
