It hasn’t taken long for New York’s Phonograph to make an impression in the music industry. Since forming in 2005, the band has achieved critical acclaim from Billboard magazine, American Songwriter Magazine, and The New York Times. They’ve toured with Wilco, Grace Potter and the Nocturnals, and they just played the Bonnaroo music festival this year.
Phonograph is categorized in the Alt. Country genre, but as singer Matthew Welsh explains, “Even though we’re known more for an alt-country aesthetic… we want a healthy balance between interesting psychedelic sounds and good-old-wholesome-American-songwriting.” I was immediately hooked on their music as it reminded me of Wilco’s journey into experimentation in their Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album.
According to Phonograph’s bio, the band started as Welsh’s solo project. With the help of the engineer, John Davis, Welsh put together the pieces of the current lineup while recording. The end result was a couple of EP’s, “From Action to Dynamic Silence,” and “Nu Americana.” I picked these EP’s up from CdBaby back in 2005 and haven’t been able to find them since. I guess they are out of print.
I can’t recall which EP was first released, but I remember receiving “From Action to Dynamic Silence” in the mail first. The song that absolutely captured me was the track “Learn to Die.”
Matthew Welsh’s voice carries the weight of the song, but when the rest of the band kicks in, it’s like seeing color when all you’ve ever known is black & white. The loops, the electronic effects, the horns… they all blend nicely and do not take away at all from the basic structure of the song.
Welsh sings:
You’re alright, you’re just standing in line
You just gotta learn to die
Totally dig it. This song remains one of my favorites of their catalog. I’ve included it in the Dig-It Downloads below.
In 2007 Phonograph released their first full length Cd. This self-titled debut continues to build on their sound and definitely lives up to Welsh’s hopes for the band. The songwriting is solid, and the musical canvas they use is so vast that I find myself listening to songs repeatedly just to try to catch it all. It’s like rewatching The Sixth Sense over and over again to make sure you got all the clues…
2008 has been a good year for the group. They just put out an EP called Hiawatha Talking Machine, and are currently on tour supporting it. They’ve got their first Los Angeles date set for November 12. That’s a Wednesday night… I hope I can make it!
Phonograph is one of those bands that find a new way to do what has already been done. It seems as if they are constantly searching for ways to push the envelope in the Americana/Alt. Country genre… they’ve created a sound to call their own and I, for one, cannot wait to see what they’ll do next.
Pick up their albums, buy their swag, go see them live… do what you can to support this band.
You can purchase their records here: ArclightRecords.com
Here are some upcoming shows for Phonograph:
November 12 @ 8:00pm – The Roxy, Los Angeles, CA.
November 14 @ 10:00pm – Pianos, New York, NY.
December 6 @ 8:00pm – The Studio at Webster Hall, New York, NY.
December 28 @ 8:00pm – The Higher Ground, Burlington, VT.
Your Dig-It Downloads:
Learn to Die
Popularity: 17% [?]