Ghosty

A whirl of desperation continues to plague the music industry at large as it stumbles to find its way home after a long night of intoxication on the cheap thrills of teeny pop and date rape rap-metal has begun to wear off. Having lost their bearings and watched bands like The Shins, Death Cab For Cutie and The Arcade Fire come out of "nowhere" (as far as they could tell, but we all know better, don't we?) and wonder what the future holds for them, labels run around waving their checkbooks furiously to sign infant bands who are, more often than not, underdeveloped (or total charlatans) without doing their due diligence for fear that their competitor across the street will move quicker. Silly rabbit.

Thankfully, the panic hasn't yet spread from the coasts to the relative isolation of the midwest where artists are able to germinate and grow into a fully-realized talent. And it's the climate of Lawrence, Kansas that has allowed Ghosty to flourish into something special.

Grow Up Or Sleep In are the fruits of six years of intense dedication of its lead vocalist and main songwriter, Andrew Connor. Upon arrival at Kansas University, Connor began putting the group together parallel with his music major studies, as he preferred the works of Coyne, Tweedy and Malkmus to the more traditional fare of Souza, Bach and Glitter's "Rock 'n' Roll Part Two" that dominate present day music curricula. The years see the band working through the awkward adolescence of false starts, itinerant bass players, and self-releases neglected by the public and press at large. Through it all, Connor was honing his songwriting skills which began to truly blossom around the time of Ghosty’s third EP, Three Pop Songs.

Recorded with Lincoln, NE-based producer Mike Mogis (Bright Eyes, Cursive), the songs that comprise the Three Pop Songs EP are the bedrock of Grow Up Or Sleep In. "Big Surrender" is one of those pop concoctions that is damn near perfect, with hooks as big as the open prairie skies and arrangements that build in anticipation that mirror the building restlessness of the lyric. It draws you in like an instant pop classic but sustains for much longer than is usually allowed. "Henry Green" is a poignant midtempo number whose swooning chorus is filled with introspective heartache while "Hey Somebody" opens like a long-lost latter day Pavement tune that Stephen Malkmus discarded because it might have actually been a hit song.

With Mogis too busy making multi-platinum records for Saddle Creek to finish the album, Ghosty chose to migrate south to Oklahoma to work with Trent Bell, whose previous work with The Flaming Lips fit neatly with some of the new tunes Connor had crafted. While the pop was most definitely in effect, the new songs exhibited a new complexity. Tracks like "Jacqueline" and "Rooms In The Dark," are delicate, introspective songs that are filtered through folk, prog and jazz influences. "(In A Big World) Little Dreams Count" and "Clouds Solve It" are the most straightforward "pop” of the new songs, but even those have their own unique twists, turns and key and tempo changes that showcase an imagination that's creatively doing laps around most of its peers.

Along the way, Ghosty have slowly built a growing cadre of musician friends and supporters... a 17-date tour with Son, Ambulance here, and kind word from Sondre Lerche there. While the band were in Oklahoma recording, they were unwittingly spied upon by Wayne Coyne, who dropped into the studio to add some vocals for the annual Flaming Lips Xmas single but was so taken aback by what he heard, he insisted that Ghosty contribute to the single recording AND that he get to contribute to their album which, of course, the band were quick to accept.

Since recording the Grow Up Or Sleep In as a quartet on their own dime, Ghosty have entered into a relationship Future Farmer Records and have expanded to a five-piece so as to better present the music in the grandeur of the album live. They will be hitting the road in support of the record this Fall. Dates to be announced soon.