Give Up The Ghost
Self-Released, 2021
8/10
A band assembled from players in the Helsinki punk rock scene, these days Eden Prairie reside closer to alt-country territory, and this sophomore album has Peter Tierney (vocals, guitar), Jarkko Immonen (drums, percussion, trash can), Tommi Kokkonen (guitar, backing vocals) and Manu Hilden (bass, guitar, harmonica lapsteel) penning introspective and poetic songs tinted with melancholy.
“Take The I Train” starts the listen with warm strumming as expressive singing and crisp drumming meet at a timeless Americana and country intersection, and “Birch Street” follows with soothing harmonica, where a charming grit enters alongside rugged melody.
Landing in the middle, “First Time I Lost You” tugs on the heartstrings with its dreamy, stirring song craft, while “Dead Weight” benefits from a more firm approach that approaches a rural rock mood. “Sam Cooke”, a truly outstanding tune, then displays a sublime intimacy amid some very pretty singing.
At the end, “When The Circus Came To Town” resides in calm waters initially, where bouts of pedal steel and quick, even dance friendly moments make this one of the best tracks, and ‘Pinecones And Needles” exits the listen with a hazy, folk influenced finish that’s as absorbing as it is memorable.
An album probably very suited for the long, desolate winters of their home country, Give Up The Ghost sounds right at home in Nashville, too, as well as adjacent to the legions of veteran punks channeling their inner Leonard Cohen and Johnny Cash. A very well thought out record, Eden Prairie should be on everyone’s list of bands from Finland that we need to be acquainted with.
Travels well with: Wild Earp And The Free For Alls- Dyin’ For Easy Livin’; Annie Keating- Bristol County Tides