#handsome ghost

Happy fall to all my pals in the northern hemisphere! 

Handsome Ghost recently dropped a new album! Their music has been my companion through a lot of really shitty stuff. Some of my favorite songs of theirs are "Not The One For You," "Nightmare," and "Weight Of It All". Their music in infused with a hazy, melancholic, nostalgia that has transitioned from midnight city street to autumnal twilight vibes. 

So here's my tribute to Handsome Ghost. I pulled all of the colours from their album covers, trying to meld the vibes of their whole discography. 

This handsome lil guy is also available on my Redbubble on various forms of merch. 

my autumn classics 🍂💿

1. YELLOW - Coldplay

2. HURRICANE - Bridgit Mendler

3. HEAR YOU ME - Jimmy Eat World

4. ALL OF THE STARS - Ed Sheeran

5. BLOOM - The Paper Kites

6. THE MAZE - Manchester Orchestra

7. PROMISES - Handsome Ghost

8. THE FALL - Imagine Dragons

9. '39 - Queen

10. WHO ARE YOU, REALLY? - Mikky Ekko

11. WHEN YOU LOVE SOMEONE - James TW

12. ROSES - Against The Current

13. LET HER GO - Passenger

14. YELLOW FLICKER BEAT - Lorde

15. ENOUGH FOR YOU - Saint Claire

16. READY OR NOT - Bridgit Mendler

17. AUTUMN LEAVES - Ed Sheeran

18. SEPTEMBER SONG - JP Cooper

19. RED (TAYLOR'S VERSION) - Taylor Swift

20. A CAR, A TORCH, A DEATH - twenty one pilots

21. FALLING OVER ME - Demi Lovato

22. THE FALL SONG - Bridgit Mendler

23. ELECTRIC LOVE - BØRNS

24. HAMMER TO FALL - Queen

25. WILLOW - Taylor Swift

26. FADER - The Temper Trap

27. YOU GIVE LOVE A BAD NAME - Bon Jovi

28. WELCOME TO CABANA - Naughty Boy, Tinie Tempah, Emeli Sandé

29. HOME TO YOU - Sigrid

The indie pop band Handsome Ghost are back with the follow-up to their debut album “Welcome Back”. The duo from Boston consists of Eddie Byun and singer Tim Noyes. What started out as Noyes’ solo synthpop project turned into something so much more, with “Welcome Back” gaining a bit of traction. Now after some time off from touring they’ve decided to make a return to the music world with their sophomore record “Some Still Morning”.

While “Welcome Back” had a heavy focus on percussion and catchy synth melodies, Handsome Ghost have taken a step back to focus more on a minimal approach to their second album. After releasing the first single “Massachusetts” it was obvious their sound had changed from the synthpop style that fans are used to, instead it focused more on acoustic guitar and very little drums.

This sound is prevalent throughout the record, which starts with the track “Funeral” which was another single released before the album. Immediately it sets the tone for the album both sonically and lyrically, with it talking about a failing relationship. 

After “Funeral” and “Massachusetts” is yet another single called “Weeds” which was probably my least favorite of the songs released before the album. There’s not a lot going on in this track in terms of the instrumentals, and putting it after the first two songs starts to make the album drag a little and shows the problem that the singles had: they started to sound too similar to each other. Focusing heavily on acoustic guitar and not having much else in the mix starts to get old, even if it does blend well with Noyes’ vocals, which are a highlight of almost every song on this album.

Thankfully the issue of songs sounding too much like each other is solved on the next song “Christmas In Jersey” which is the first non-single, and is my personal favorite on the entire record. This is the first time that we get to hear a focus on electric guitar and it fits the song very well. Like many of Handsome Ghost’s lyrics the song is very emotional and focuses a lot on relationships. For fans of the older Handsome Ghost sound, this is one that is more like that, even with the lack of drums. The melody in the verses is very reminiscent of their early work from before “Welcome Back”.

The album continues to pick up with the next two songs, “Fifteen Countries” and “Vampires”, the first of which has some really fantastic lyrics. One line that really stands out to me is “that fires they burn brightest in the moments just before they burn out”. This is one of the songs where the minimal drums actually work really well and suit the song very well. The use of electric guitar along with acoustic also adds an extra element that makes the song stand out. 

Other tracks that work really well are “Nightmare” and “Weekend Crowd”. I love the way that “Nightmare” builds on itself, adding piano in the chorus and eventually drums to make a song that in the end sounds very different from what it started out as. I also really love the line in the bridge that gets repeated in the background of the final chorus (“say you’re losing yourself, I think it’s suiting you well). Finally, “Weekend Crowd” includes synths that bring back that classic Handsome Ghost sound, even if the track is very minimal overall. 

The album ends with the third single “Sunday Best” which to me seems like an odd choice. The closing track should be able to wrap up a full-length album but this one just ends very abruptly and kind of doesn’t really fit as a final song, which for me kind of hurts the album a little overall. I think it would have been smart to rearrange the track list a bit to both make it flow better (so it doesn’t start sounding boring within the first 3 songs) and to give it a proper ending. In my opinion, “Nightmare” would be a better choice for the closing track because of the way it builds on itself and has a really strong outro.

Overall, while I don’t think “Some Still Morning” is as good as their debut, it’s obvious that Handsome Ghost still have a lot of potential. There are some tracks on here that are some of their best songs to date (I’m thinking specifically of “Christmas In Jersey”) and while the track list as a whole doesn’t always flow very well, it’s still a pretty solid record overall. I’d love to see the band explore this more acoustic sound further, and maybe adding more percussion, similar to how their earlier songs were made, to make certain songs sound more unique.

omg thank you this made me so excited!! my music taste is one of my favorite things about myself lol so hell yeah here we go

if you like gregory alan isakov, try josh ritter, he’s easily in my top 5 artists and i’m obsessed with his storytelling. for softer, more comforting ones, i’ll suggest: still beating, thunderbolt’s goodnight, lark, on the water, joy to you baby. for more upbeat, some favs of mine are: getting ready to get down, a big enough sky, time is wasting, to the dogs or whoever

since you like MIKA, for more bubbly pop with deep emotions, look no further than our lord and savior carly rae jepsen! fun & infatuated: fake mona lisa, let’s sort the whole thing out, want you in my room, run away with me. for some good catharsis: when i needed you, i’ll be your girl, gimmie love, real love

for some impeccable faith crisis content and melancholic jams, rainbow kitten surprise: hide, cocaine jesus, fever pitch, holy war, it’s called: freefall, cold love

brian fallon is a huge favorite of mine if you’re into americana: come wander with me, forget me not, if your prayers don’t get to heaven, nobody wins, when you’re ready

and a grab bag of some miscellaneous artists: whosah - make a move, ghost town. jonas friddle - under the weather, samson was a lover, drinking in a dry town (tw for the f slur in that one). matt maeson - hallucinogenics, cliffy, cringe, legacy. handsome ghost: eyes wide, reckless lover, fool, graduate