After doing a cover song series and releasing a BBC Sessions EP, Phosphorescent has now announced his first new album since 2018’s C’est La Vie. The new LP is called Revelator and it comes out April 5 via Verve Records, following five albums for Dead Oceans. The album was self-produced by Phosphorescent leader Matthew Houck at his Nashville studio, and it features Jack Lawrence of The Raconteurs, Jim White of Dirty Three and Matthew’s partner and frequent collaborator Jo Schornikow. Jo also wrote one of the album’s songs, “The World Is Ending,” which marks the first Phosphorescent song not written by Matthew Houck.
The first single is the title track, a lovely dose of ethereal Americana that’s full of lyrical and melodic turns that wrap themselves around you like the arms of an old friend. Here’s what Matthew says about it:
This is the song that made me realize I was writing an album.
There’s always one that does that
Until then I’m sort of floundering around with a bunch of song bits in various stages
With no clear picture of what it is I’m doingOnce the song “Revelator” came to be
I could see what the album could beI truly struggled with naming the album Revelator
As I feel like it probably has certain biblical and genre connotations
That don’t apply to this album or to Phosphorescent at allBut in the end I know what I mean by it
And the album really couldn’t be called anything else
And so that’s why this is the title trackI think it might be the best song I’ve ever written
A press release also notes that Phosphorescent is announcing a 2024 tour soon, so stay tuned for that. Check out the new song, album art, and tracklist below.
In preparation for this announcement, Phos played a WFUV-sponsored private show at the legendary Bitter End in NYC’s West Village in NYC last night. The show was recorded so you’ll get to hear the whole thing, but we were there and he previewed a few of the new songs and also played a couple of older ones. Sighted in the audience was Paul Schrader, whose new film Oh, Canada is being scored by Phosphorescent, and Uma Thurman, who stars in the film. See pictures from the show by P Squared below.
Tracklist
Revelator
The World Is Ending
Fences
Impossible House
Wide As Heaven
A Moon Behind The Clouds
All The Same
A Poem On The Men’s Room Wall
To Get It Right
