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Review: This Old Ghost - Family Room

Family Room cover artThis Old Ghost - Family Room                                               
Release Date: January 22, 2013
Record Label: Self Released
Rating: 9/10
For Fans Of: Of Monsters And Men, Good Old War
Official Site


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 This Old Ghost, formed in New York in 2010, are the happiest band around. The band, comprised of Ian McGuinness, Karri Diomede, Ryan Sniffen, Brendan Coughlan and Robbie Pizzolato, deal in upbeat summer indie pop filled with quirk and cheer. Their debut EP, 2011’s Island Of Violent Lovers was superb - it was an ‘everything but the kitchen sink’ release filled to the brim with organic instrumentation and accessibility. They’ve returned with their debut album, Family Room and if you thought the EP was great, well, you’re certainly in for a treat.

Family Room is wonderful. The band hovers on the edges of the recent folk pop revival, with their sound feeding into the likes of Of Monsters & Men and Hudson Taylor, but they put their own unique brand on the sound, opting more for epic landscapes than barren dustlands. Throughout the release, the listener shall encounter attractive boy/girl vocals, super catchy melodies and often absolutely massive sounding flourishes. As a whole, the album offers up everything you could possibly want from a band of their ilk, and much more.

The individual tracks stand up by themselves too. Opener “Twenty Six” is catchy as hell. From the marching band-esque opening guitar line to the carefree lyricism;  “We’re falling in love at the drop of a pin “ being a choice cut to the wonderfully steady vocals, the song sets the album off to a great start and within a mere four minutes of listening to the album, the world already feels like a better place. And it isn’t just the opener that will establish a home for This Old Ghost in your heart. “Jumping Fences” “Bury The Hatchet” and “Lasso The Moon” are all single material and will lodge themselves in your brain and refuse to leave, not that you’ll mind. When melodies and choruses are as sweet as this, they’ll be welcome among your brain cells.

Aside from their ability to pen a catchy tune, This Old Ghost have the general musical ability that means they’ll go far. McGuinness’ vocals; whilst somewhat reminiscent of Death Cab For Cutie’s Benjamin Gibbard’s, are extremely distinct and exceedingly charming. When the boy/girl vocals are utilised it’s simply splendid, as they harmonise and contrast perfectly. Instrumentally, the release is a little less flute focuses than their debut EP (don’t worry, it does feature), and a little more directed towards indie rock. However, the band have made this transition smoothly and they retain the perfect ratio of folk to rock, so the release never gets too boring or samey.

Overall, Family Room is an excellent album. Where their debut EP fell down slightly, due to a little too much quirk, Family Room is hard to fault. Every track is lovable, every melody is hummable and every lyric is memorable. It’s obvious that This Old Ghost are going to go far. To almost paraphrase the band, I’m certain any listener will fall in love at the drop of the needle. One of the best releases so far this year.
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