If Matthew Houck didnt stumble out of the top-floor bedroom of a Texas saloon, slide down the banister, tucking in his buttoned-down white shirt en route to the bars upright piano to record the dusty, jubilant Its Hard to Be Humble (When Youre From Alabama), the first track off Phosphorescents May release, Heres To Taking It Easy, he did a good job faking it. Humble, like the rest of the albumwith its easy pedal steel, clinking piano chords, and drawled howlsis marked by its effortlessness, grin, and authenticity, not to a specific genre, but to the musicmaker himself. Theres no indication that Houck is attempting to do anything here other than what comes natural to him when he rolls out of bed in the morning, or at least his hour between sleep and breakfast. With J. Tillman, Grouplove. CHRIS KORNELIS
Sat., July 31, 8 p.m., 2010
