Here's To Taking It Easy
by Phosphorescent
Metascore
78

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 25
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 25
  3. Negative: 0 out of 25
  1. Drowned In Sound
    60
    There's just so many country records being made, each a replica of another, that in moving away from Phosphorescent's original sound, much of Here's To Taking It Easy has found itself dangerously subscribing to banal convention.
  2. Rolling Stone
    60
    You might feel like you've heard some of Here's to Taking It Easy before, but Houck is skillful enough that you probably won't mind hearing it again.
  3. NOW Magazine
    60
    There's no particular deficiency, but the new approach pushes the Brooklyn-based Athens, Georgia, band closer to the middle of the road than ever before.
  5. The Boston Phoenix
    50
    Forsaking subtly Southern melancholy in favor of jangling, twanging hillbilly heartbreak, Here's to Taking It Easy misplaces amplified country fever instead of channeling it.

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User Score
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No user score yet- Awaiting 1 more rating

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. Ricko
    Jan 3, 2018
    9
    This is a real pleasant listen. I guess it could be classed as Americana or Alternative Country and although I'm not a massive fan of eitherThis is a real pleasant listen. I guess it could be classed as Americana or Alternative Country and although I'm not a massive fan of either of those genres, I do really like this record. The lyrics are great, the tunes are excellent and it has a consistent feel to it throughout. The record creates a very specific type of atmosphere, one that really gives you a sense of a place and I could see myself listening to this while sitting on a back porch of a house somewhere in the American Deep South overlooking a swamp. That's probably not what Matthew Houck was going for with this record but that's what it is for me and I like it. It's hard to pick a stand out track as it's all high end stuff. "The Mermaid Parade" is probably my favourite track on this, closely followed by Los Angeles but "Here's To Taking It Easy" is one of those records best consumed whole in one sitting.… Full Review »
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