Ghost Ranch
Fluff & Gravy, 2024
8/10
The Austrian pair of Georg Altziebler and Heike Binder, as Son of the Velvet Rat they’ve been making folk friendly sounds for 20+ years now, and these 11 new songs recruit plenty of varied ideas.
The dark spirit of “Bewildering Black & White Moments Captured On Trail Cams” starts the listen with dense bass and mysterious singing from Georg’s smoky pipes, and “Are The Angels Pretty?” follows with soft beauty via the soothing vocal harmonies and Jay Bellerose’s cautious drums.
Further along, the warm acoustic guitar of “The Golden Gate” complements the poetic singing, while “Rosary” is a fuller moment that uses Marc Ribot’s meticulous guitar amid fluid percussion and Jolie Holland’s stirring violin.
Residing closer to the end the low buzzing of “Kindness Of The Moon” spotlights Jennifer Condon’s skilled bass with a nearly ominous angle, and “Cicadas” exits with the sounds of nature alongside intimate guitar.
Now residents of Joshua Tree, the husband/wife duo bring to mind legends like Townes Van Zandt, Leonard Cohen or Bob Dylan, where these haunting, pretty and psyche-tinted songs take us on a mesmerizing journey.
Travels well with: Laith- Lightning; Jim White- Misfit’s Jubilee