Ghosty

A Mystic’s Robe

More Famouser Records

It’s been a relatively quiet year for Ghosty, as the band members focused on supporting their 2008 album, Answers, and their personal lives.

But in September, Ghosty digitally released A Mystic’s Robe, a vibrant three-track EP that demonstrates the Lawrence band’s ability to expand on its existing sound without scrapping it entirely.

Andrew Connor and company have always been sources of solid musicianship with some balanced pop sensibilities, but here the songs are far more melodic and casual, relying heavily on three- and four-part harmonies.

“My Girl is Strong” is a fairly straightforward pop song with a pair of simple, but sufficient solos that lead into the final refrain. The closing track, “Sunday Morning (Washed Away),” is a delicate and dreamy track that manages to capture that lazy, sleep-in-late attitude that marks any quality Sabbath so well that it should probably not be listened to while driving or operating heavy machinery.

The EP’s sweet spot is directly in the middle. “Secret Language” stands alongside the best of the band’s catalog and is one of the sharpest indie-pop songs of the year. An investing and beautiful song lyrically and musically, the track features angelic vocals and layers of harmonies during the chorus. It’s upbeat, direct and far less deliberate than what we’ve come to expect from Ghosty.

As it stands, A Mystic’s Robe is the kind of EP every local band should aspire to. It’s concise, creative and new and familiar at the same time. The three songs that make up the EP are some of the band’s most melodic, low-key and enjoyable.

If this is just a detour or a final resting place for three songs that don’t quite fit anywhere else in the band’s catalog, so be it.

But if A Mystic’s Robe is a hint of things to come from the venerable pop band, then be on the lookout for what follows.

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Download A Mystic’s Robe at ghosty.bandcamp.com and look for it soon on iTunes.