Ghost Stories: Quixoticism (Sonic Boom Recordings)
Indie pop-rock w/ moments of folk. Ex-Fruit Bats member Ron Lewis. Reminiscent of Elliott Smith, but with less intensity and a little closer to Sufjan w/ instrumental variety (although not as grandiose). Breathy, intimate rock male vox, sometimes close to elliott smith, other times like ted leo. Complex arrangements contrast nicely w/ incidental, sincere, simple aesthetic. Lots of incidental instrumentation under standard folk-rock drummin’ ‘n strummin’, which somehow provide most of the intensity. Lots of electric guitar squeals, xylophones, samples low in mix. Music gets a little busy, so it stays interesting, although a little hard to follow at first listen. Play #5,7,9,4.
1) 3:15 -mid-tempo folk rock. Breathy male vox. Guitar strumming, some drums. Some electric guitar + strings late. Whistling/harmonic/xylophone at end.
2) 5:40 –up tempo rock that goes everywhere. Quick male vox going up and down scale. Driving drum beat. Acoustic rhythm guitar strumming, some electric guitar + organ. Simple feel, but lots happening. Sick sitar part. Gets softer, more straightforward for last 2:30.
3) 2:24 –starts w/ rapid high strings (cool). Standard drumming ‘n strumming. La-la backing vox. Simple guitar melody + metal guitar squealing.
4) 2:50 –softer folk rock. Shaker percussion, guitar strums, sound of a boiling kettle low in mix. Picks up halfway through w/beat. Some piano + high pitch guitar. Sufjan-ish vox near end.
5) 4:49 – soft folk. Simple, beautiful acoustic guitar. Bird samples. Xylophones. Intimate vocals. New beat enters w/ 1:40 left for cool coda. Near silence at end w/ samples that bleed into next track.
6) 2:42 – up-beat western/gypsy beat. Straightforward rock w/ some cool guitar. Xylophone.
7) 4:08 –driving lo-fi beat. Curious, dark male vox. Theremin low in mix. Heavy, elverum-ish drums. Piano chords, repetitive guitar line. Gets soft at 1:46 w/ acoustic finger picking w/ Elliott Smith-ish part. Ends w/ drone.
8) 3:27 – indie rock-pop. starts w/ double guitar line + feedback. Driving beat. Ted Leo-ish melodic pop vox. Kitchen silverware percussion? Snazzy guitar squeals + melodic runs.
9) 2:42 – quick beat, soft feel. Staccato guitar plucks. Handclaps. gets heavier later w/buzzing something. Falls apart into scratchy stuff over organ.
10) 2:48 – soft, slow pop. repetitive acoustic guitar pattern. Drums, simple electric guitar, harmonica, organ kick in later.
11) 3:49 –midtempo pop. starts w/ weird distorted high guitar. Metal guitar doodling low in mix. Sweet piano line. Fairly straightforward pop. gets soft for a while for vox to repeat song title for a bit. Last 12 seconds are silent.