That Ghost – Get it and Get Out EP – Album Review

What are the central features of the recent surge of low-fi, DIY, garage intonation in popular indie music?  I’d like to go on record as fan of this movement, drawn to the underlying sleaze and overall simplicity behind it all.  Before the public relations shitstorm surrounding Wavves, I’ll admit that I was tapping my toes, impressed that a kid could sloppily package about six decades into two minute pop/rock songs that glued themselves into my brain.  Perhaps, also, my age heightens the importance of the pseudo-renaissance of this type of garage sound.  I find it, at the very least, intriguing to think one artist can sit behind a computer and have enough discipline and creativity to singularly build tracks piece-by-piece.  Brian, earlier this week, also alluded to the recent popularity of mashups and how the DIY ethos is what draws him in.  In a similar light, regardless of personal preference, listeners should probably enter these types of albums with a keen eye on the process of creation itself, slightly detaching themselves from the back-catalogs, reference markers, and influences.  To me, what’s important is that new advances in technology allow average musicians to create decent music. Accordingly, this also means average musicians can still make average music, but at a much more rapid pace.  Does this create a song-population density that’s too high for our ears?  In other words, is a tipping point inevitable where too many simply average musicians inundate the blogosphere with mediocre computer-generated barbrawl tunes?

All this introductory philosophy to mention the new (well, not so much) EP being re-released by That Ghost, aka Ryan Schmale, a prolific Californian who seems on a mission to hoist his grungy DIY sound right into the low-fi conversation.  A few quickly issued LP’s and EP’s already under That Ghost’s belt, this EP is being reissued properly through Twosyllable Records, digitally, on November 17, as it was primarily sold on tour.  The important thing is that this collection of seven gritty tracks is by no means mediocre, and most certainly, blends a unique mixture of styles and intrigue into the discussion.  As mentioned previously, it’s probably important to toss out baggage and reservations with the low-fi movement in order to critically evaluate this EP.  In doing so, two central features pop and gleam with this effort.  First, the lyricism and distant tone is strangely familiar and heartwarming.  Secondly, That Ghost’s overall differentiation from typical low-fi standards separate it from the pack of mimicry and repetitive, simplistic basement jams.  This notion takes a few ticks to warm up, as the album opener, “Cracked the Bottle” emphasizes a hollow fuzz looming and booming in the foreground while wicked oohs and ahhs in the chorus teeter on the edge of breakdown.  A rhythmic and pulsing guitar pummels relentlessly throughout, signifying, as with much of the EP, that he’s not here to warm your heart, but more likely to growl the joy right out of you.  Consider the opener a tone-setter, but also divergent, in that it’s probably the most traditionally low-fi and predictable of the 7 gems on the EP.

The meat of Get It and Get Out is a swirling juxtaposition of endearing sadness and foggy sneer.  Traditional garage fuzz instrumentation consistently assaults listeners from track one through seven, but a hollow sentimentality projects outward upon repeat listens.  Subtle variations in Schmale’s lyrical delivery and arrangement ring loud in clear in tracks like “The Red Bow” and “Later Nights.”  In the former, a looming and dark bass groove throughout mixes with a trebly and whining guitar strum, but the lyricism transmits feeling, rather than the typical nonchalance.  I’d much rather just cut my legs off / so you can carry me home, on your own.  Repeatedly, Schmale touches on the sentimental pining of loss and regret, which soars above typical low-fi releases and makes the loose and gritty sound all the more intriguing.  In the latter track, tambourine jangles and lighter, more crisp guitar work separates the fuzz from the streamline, as if Schmale pops his head out and greets listeners more closely than in other tracks of the EP.  An energetic and largely upbeat tone is set.  At times, it’s difficult to pull yourself away from the sound.  It’s as if he’s spitting defiantly in faces while listeners issue hugs of encouragement.  The growl is there, but it’s coming from a kid with some naive feeling and emotion.  How is this unlikable?

The EP hits a sonic and thematic peak with two tracks, “Shouldn’t Leave the Estate,” and “The Roof,” larger tracks nestled right in the center. In the first track, high-hat cymbal rides and bass grooves send it down the path of former decades of garage sound. He knows his predecessors and pays homage accordingly.  Lyrically, the literature teacher in me wants to dive inward and establish point of view.  Throw the pillow on the carpet.  I want to sleep upon it.  But leave on all the lights. . . They have to start to treat me right.  Of course, in comparison to other tracks, it comes across as a rue-filled narrator that’s been cast away.  The ambiguity steers me toward an animal narrator of sorts, as if the family dog is speaking about neglect.  Would Schmale create a bonecrushing tune that speaks from a canine perspective?  I have no idea, but the mere fact that we get to study and digest intelligent lyricism in a low-fi effort is worth many schillings.  “The Roof” sits ominously as the EP’s bruising hay-maker, with distortion ripping through the ambiance like a rusty meat cleaver.  Drumsticks pounding metal, distortion-laced dissonance, and low-string guitar strums create the perfect mixture of melancholy and rapture.  I kicked the hole into the window.  The rain came through and you decided to go.  And you decided to go.

A single That Ghost 7″, from Transparent Records, was just released yesterday for the public.  On Side A, the track “Never Have Fun” will jolt you, and the B-Side, “Your Backs” closes it out.  Since the EP is being re-released proper in two short weeks, this is a good day for listeners just getting their first taste.  You get the taste of old with “The Red Bow,” and the new and upcoming That Ghost material.  Enjoy and get out there and keep That Ghost in your line of site. As far as this resurgence of sound goes, Schmale’s differentiation on the entire ethos is not only refreshing, but noteworthy to talk about at listening parties.  With one swipe at the internet, Schmale’s music deserves to be launched into the low-fi discussion.  We’re excited to see where the train rolls next.

From Get it and Get Out EP (Out November 17 at Twosyllable Records)

That Ghost – The Red Bow

From the upcoming single release:

That Ghost – Never Have Fun

That Ghost – Your Backs