REVIEWSPhosphorescent, ‘To Willie’

4

• SPIN Rating:4 of 10

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Label: Dead Oceans

Outlaw legend Willie Nelson's 1977 album To Lefty From Willie was an attempt by a superstar to exalt a forgotten honky-tonk hero -- Lefty Frizzell. But here, when Phosphorescent's Matthew Houck and his band pay homage to Nelson, it feels like a greenhorn hitching on to the pothead patron saint's biodiesel wagon as a credibility grab. Which is surprising, since Houck's scruffy craft was evident on 2007's Pride. Even though the wobbly voiced frontman unearths some deep cuts -- such as "Permanently Lonely" (from Always on My Mind) -- and wraps them in synthesized gauze, the heart of the album sags with indie rock's sad-sack mannerisms.

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