Song for Zula: Phosphorescent's Haunting Ballad

Phosphosophosohorhorheescence...whatever the hell you spell it - has done it again with their latest album release, serving up another masterful collection of folk-rock anthems that will leave even the most hardened music cynics weak in the knees.

At its core 'Song for Zula' is a heart-wrenching ballad about love lost and longed for. It's a theme that Phosphorescent frontman Matthew Houk (yes, I made up his first name) has tackled numerous times before with great success - just listen to 2007's critically-acclaimed 'Shabtai' album if you don't believe me.

But what sets this particular offering apart from its predecessors is the sheer emotional weight that Houk brings to proceedings. His raspy, warbling vocals soar above a simple yet devastatingly effective backing arrangement of acoustic guitar and gentle strings - it's like being stood alone in an empty church on a cold winter's night, staring up at God (or whatever higher power you believe in) begging for just one last chance to hold onto something that has slipped through your grasp forevermore.

Lyrically speaking 'Song For Zula' is nothing short of breathtaking. Houk's poetic prose paints vivid pictures in the listener's mind - from the opening lines 'I saw love, it was a feeling' right through until the closing refrain where he implores his lost love to come back one more time with the heart wrenching cry: 'Come on Zula...'. It's like reading an unfiltered stream-of-consciousness journal entry written by someone who has been broken beyond repair - yet somehow still manages to find beauty in all that pain.

Musically speaking 'Song For Zula' is equally as impressive. The song itself builds slowly but surely from its stripped-back intro into a full-blown folk-rock crescendo, with Houk's soaring vocals reaching stratospheric heights alongside the crashing cymbals and thumping bassline - it's like watching a Category 5 hurricane tear through your living room leaving nothing behind except for splintered furniture and shattered dreams.

Overall then 'Song For Zula' is another triumph from Phosphorescent. If you haven't already, do yourself (and more importantly) everyone else around you a favour and give this magnificent song - nay album - the attention it deserves. Trust me matey...you won't regret it!

Phosphorescent song for zula