WORDS / MORGAN COOK

They’ve spent the last 10 years working on refining their craft. A decade of writing and recording a lyrically driven mix of folk and pop tunes. And now, they’ve decided their debut album is finally ready to be shared with the world.

Based out of Northwest Arkansas, The Ghoul Goes West is a band that doesn’t necessarily believe in labeling themselves. According to vocals and guitarist Christopher Smith, their band aims to make “interesting, yet challenging music for people who like music that is slightly abnormal.” And after listening to their 13-song album, it’s clear that they have done just that.

They released their debut album ‘Ghosts and Bones and Blood and Things’ earlier this year, but Smith said the style and sound that you’ll hear on this album isn’t the same sound they had first started with.

“All the songs on the new record started off as acoustic, stripped down songs, but in the end after being ran through the filter of the whole band, they came out being a lot less indie folk than they started,” Smith said. “There’s still a few songs that retain that stripped down, folk feeling, but mostly they transformed into something more akin to straight indie rock, or even art rock.”

Influenced by bands like Neutral Milk Hotel, Pavement, and The Pixies, The Ghoul Goes West is able to find a unique balance between the indie rock feel and the strong connection they say they have to “the folk and mountain music of the south from which we were all born and raised.”

“Not all of these songs are overtly user-friendly on the surface,” Smith explained, “But if you pay attention to the words and give the songs/recordings a genuine listen, I think you’ll find it to be quite unique.”

Most recently, the band performed and shot a video for the NPR Music Desk Contest, and their footage was featured on the NPR Music Blog. Now, Smith says that they are working towards making a music video for each song on the album, using mostly vintage public domain videos.

“Also, you don’t have to take all of the lyrics literally. No one in the band has a real problem with necrophilia.”

Photo courtesy of Ghoul Goes West

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