Ghostrain

Having recently parted ways with Magic Ass, Luke Gustafson’s solo adventures continue on his second recording after 2003’s The 7th and Carolina Tapes. Like his exceptional debut, Gustafson’s merger of folk, funk, soul and blues is quietly sublime. Many of the songs bring little more than a guitar, bass, snare, and the odd handclap in to carry the tune, but a few tracks do feature a synthesiser and organ. Gustafson plays it all himself. Ghostrain’s sound is intimately near, yet elusive. The lack of production gives the album warmth and richness; a cosy feeling that envelops the listener as the poetic, meandering vocals work their way into the subconscious. Gustafson’s style is satisfyingly irregular, veering off in unexpected directions while maintaining a clear but flexible sense of form. The songs capture the listener with their melancholy: a hypnotic quality comparable to Townes Van Zandt’s early work. Gustafson doesn’t lose himself in the blues, as he intones on the title track, "Let the record show, a pirate’s life for me.” Ghostrain is an exercise in appropriation that draws on a pirate’s booty of sound and sentiment. Let the record show you how.