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When artists describe their music (or have it described by others) as dream-pop, that\u2019s usually a reliable signal that the mood of the music focuses on one of two musical perspectives: it\u2019s either happy and ethereal or\u2014more likely\u2014minor-key, somewhat glacially-paced music that conjures an unsettling, foreboding and deeply textured mood. And by that measure, the latter is often possessed of greater depth and appeal.<\/p>\n
The music of Asheville-based Crooked Ghost fits squarely into the second category. The quintet\u2019s second and latest full-length release is Skeleton House<\/i>; from its title to the mysterious cover art, the album telegraphs the intent and mood of the music.<\/p>\n
The album opens with \u201cBody in Stars,\u201d a virtual tone-poem of a song. There\u2019s a yearning, restless feel to the tune, delivered over a languid two-chord vamp. Two chords are clearly enough to establish and build the intended feel of the song.<\/p>\n
\u201cSleepwalker\u201d (not the Kinks classic; all eight songs on Skeleton House<\/i> are originals) expands the group’s vision greatly. Where \u201cBody in Stars\u201d was a shoegaze meditation, \u201cSleepwalker\u201d conjures a feel not unlike Echo and the Bunnymen or the Cult; building slowly, the song unfolds into a melodramatic presentation that suggests the best of \u201880s goth-rock.<\/p>\n
On many tunes, lead vocalist Ray (the band\u2019s online info only notes band members\u2019 first names) seems to use bits and pieces of lyrical phrases as a means to put across a particular emotion, rather than as a storytelling device. In this way they share a quality with R.E.M.: words as pieces of the sonic puzzle.<\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not always the case: \u201cOnly Nightmares\u201d employs a more conventional lyrical approach. Here as elsewhere, the vocals effect a vaguely British character. But as the song develops, wordless vocalizations occupy the space traditionally filled by a chorus. A clattering yet hypnotic guitar figure contrasts with a second guitar that\u2019s fuzzily distorted, recalling the Jesus and Mary Chain.<\/p>\n
\u201cCatch Fire\u201d threatens to reveal itself as a pop melody. The song\u2019s opening \u201cba-ba-ba\u201d vocals underscore that idea. But the dark and moody ambience of the tune doesn\u2019t deliver on that threat; it\u2019s a nervy, insistent piece of music that envelops the willing listener in a somnabulant reverie.<\/p>\n
\u201cWitch Heart\u201d is as close as Skeleton House<\/i> comes to a conventional pop song. And it\u2019s not very close at all. Ray\u2019s bleating vocal is out front, and some exceedingly unnerving screams buried deep in the mix ultimately make it the album\u2019s most disturbing piece of music. But in the context of this album, disturbing is a plus: it\u2019s obviously the desired effect. Spoken-word bits are submerged even farther into the mix; near the song\u2019s end when the instruments fade to silence, those words remain as murky and indistinct as ever. That approach calls to mind director Alfred Hitchcock\u2019s belief that implying terror is, in the end, more frightening than actually showing it onscreen.<\/p>\n
The dirge that is \u201cBlack Cat\u201d threatens to take the doom-and-dread too far; it feels like an underdeveloped example of the ideas put to better effect on the album\u2019s other tracks. Unfortunately, at nearly six minutes \u201cBlack Cat\u201d is the second-lengthiest cut on Skeleton House<\/i>. Here, Ray\u2019s theatrical warbling threatens to go right over the top.<\/p>\n
The woozy aesthetic pervading Skeleton House<\/i> continues right through \u201cRoadkill.\u201d Rather than delivering anything remarkably new or different, the song instead builds on the established character of the album. But it does so with lyrics that are a shade more distinct than what\u2019s found on the other songs. The Doors\u2019 \u201cThe End\u201d has likely provided inspiration to this group.<\/p>\n
The album concludes with its title track. Keyboards (of the string-ensemble and synthesizer pads variety) played by the surname-lacking Alexandra provide a welcoming bed for the chiming and ominous tune. A pair of overdubbed vocal lines twist slowly and menacingly around one another like two venous snakes preparing to strike.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an impressive feat to craft an entire album\u2019s worth of music while limiting the arrangements to little more than two chords for each piece. With the moody and mysterious Skeleton House<\/i>, Crooked Ghost succeeds, and does so without edging toward monotony in the process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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