The Indescribable Wow

AMG Review of The Indescribable Wow

Jason Ankeny
All Music Guide

Sam Phillips' aptly titled secular debut is a pop marvel, a bright, colorful collection produced with verve by T-Bone Burnett. At times, Phillips' sweet voice and bouncy songs conjure the spirit of prime girl-group-era pop, but her mature, pointed lyrics -- largely devoted to sophisticated dissections of modern relationships -- shrug off such easy comparisons. Similarly, Burnett's production straddles both the past and the present -- for all the 1960s nods of the Beach Boys-like "I Can't Stop Crying" or the Beatlesque "Remorse," The Indescribable Wow never sounds dated or retro, just timeless.