Massachusetts, USA-based alt folk duo Handsome Ghost first featured on this blog around this time last year when Jane discovered them for us through their track Heaven Isn’t Long For You. Now they’ve released their third, eponymous album, a collection about growing up (or not as the case may be).
By Graeme Smith
Feature photo by Seb Keefe
Handsome Ghost is an album conceived from the experience of being in a band. While those around you grow up, you are trapped in a kind of permanent adolescence which comes with its positives and negatives. Across its eleven track, Handsome Ghost explores these, starting with April Song. It’s a bright start, with a cantering tempo and some echoing country instrumentals. Delicate vocals are instantly compelling, telling an introspective story of being on tour.
Like You Lost Your Mind is darkly vibrant. It introduces romantic pop elements to the duo’s distinctive folk sound. The aforementioned Heaven Isn’t Long For You takes us into trad folk territory while Call Me When You’re Pulling Up brims with an urgent and melancholic rock energy. Its story of toxic love is a highlight.
Neptune is a beautifully descriptive tale of romantic fascination. Boy is philosophical and anthemic, with echoes of Cat Stevens’ classic Father and Son. Tonight Comes Round Again is slow, brooding and atmospheric. It makes great use of rise and fall. Even On The Darkest Days is a late album highlight. It opens intimately acoustic before slowly building to a triumphant and cathartic climax.
Figure 8 is inspired by a fictional day with singer songwriter Elliot Smith and is suitably morose, punctuated with some nice electric guitar licks. Birch Trees is lighter, heading back into acoustic folk territory enriched with nostalgia. Tiny Cracks And Pieces closes the album with a bittersweet goodbye.
With their third album, Handsome Ghost have given us something honest and special. Fans of emotional alternative folk absolutely need to listen to this record.
Handsome Ghost are lead singer songwriter Tim Noyes and multi-instrumentalist/producer Eddie Byun. The pair are touring Europe this month, with UK stops at London on the 19th, Newcastle the next evening, then Glasgow, then Edinburgh. The UK leg then ends in Manchester on the 25th. Handsome Ghost is out now via Nettwerk and you can check it out below.
