13 Ghosts
The Strangest Colored Lights
Skybucket Records
There’s a late-night, Hadacol-infused insomnia lurking in this Birmingham, Alabama-based band, and it’s not all bad. I’ll ignore the press release gibberish about “Country sludge spaghetti western psychedelic hard edge dark acoustic pop” and rank them as a solid, introspective group with a clear vision of what they want to sound like – and your opinion be damned. No “let’s fall in love and dance” sound, 13 Ghosts eschews the power pop aesthetic and camps out in the arty “This is the music we NEED to make” galaxy. If they sounded like five other bands, then who would care?
The thick, fuzzy guitar makes the melodic vocals nearly indecipherable, and the occasional appearance of a female singer, Amber Quick, tempers the darkness, but never relieves it. I’m tempted to use that horrid rock critic word “honest,” but I’d rather say these guys (and gal) are competent, creepy and morose, leaving you feeling like you’ve just been on a bender with Tom Waits. Somewhere out there, there’s an indie film that needs these guys on the soundtrack.
Skybucket Records: http://www.skybucket.com
