General Ghost

I'm in the middle of a bit of a love affair with General Ghost, a duo based in Nashville. They're often described as a cross between Pedro the Lion and Death Cab, they're a NoiseTrade 'Featured Artist', and since last year they have released two EPs. They met via twitter, but work as musicians with other artists, so General Ghost could be seen as their 'side-project' or what they do when they aren't busy with their 'day job' (Jon Howard plays guitar for Paramore, but this is far from Paramore material).

In a conversation with a friend, he announced that in The World According To [Him], every band would have an interesting story behind their name. I'm not sure what he classes as 'interesting', but I really love the story behind 'General Ghost' - they attributed odd noises in the War of 1812-era building they record in to the ghost of the general who built it, the General's Ghost, and then "We took away the apostrophe because ghosts hate punctuation." (Source)

Their records have just the right amount of 'production fun' - there's a flippy bit on 'Don't Waste Yourself', and there are more than two instruments on all the tracks, with a sprinkling of what I, ignorantly, think of as 'computer noises' - without compromising on their self-referenced quick writing style. Howard says that it feels more natural, working quickly, and there is a definite sense that not much about the finished product is forced, over-thought, or over-edited. Not that there is a lack of 'finish' to them, just that they feel authentic. Even their 'New York Minute' cover has the right amount of GG spin in it to make it feel like one of their own.

General Ghosts is the kind of band that you know would be excellent in small venues, but could also amp it up for bigger stages - the kind of band that cries out for a festival stage in the sunshine. (Or maybe I'm just still in that summer mood and wish for another festival and more sunshine...)