[Introducing] – Ghost Heart

About five minutes ago (at the time of writing) I left the house to make a short 10 minute walk to the nearest bus stop. Four minutes ago I put my earmuff headphones on and hit play on an album that was sent to me by an almost unheard-of band. Three minutes ago I was awestruck. Two minutes ago I had to stop walking to write down my thoughts on what I was hearing, and one minute ago I had to remind myself to keep walking so I wouldn’t miss the bus (made it!).

The band in question is Ghost Heart, a four-piece from Michigan whose debut album “The Tunnel” drops on January 29th via Friction Records. That album is a monster. As each song ended it left me wanting more, thankfully abated by the next song’s arrival, and that first listen was something special, something experienced rarely but always hoped-for, and never, ever taken for granted.

Maybe it’s because that 10 minute walk was bitingly cold, but as singer Tim lets rip on the opening song “Phantom Harmony”, I can’t help but feel like his voice was thrown against a far-off snow-capped mountain, and as the band sits around and waits to record the echo that comes back, they beat and plead and pound their drums with a rhythmic fervor found only in the most rural of tribes.

I had to give the album another listen to make sure I was getting this right, that I was hearing some kind of tUnE YaRdS/Local Natives/White Rabbits hybrid and that it wasn’t just a gimmick, a ruse to get me thinking of the previous three artist’s and to form some kind of mental bond between them and them.  Those and those.

Not so.  Ghost Heart are legit.  The real deal. They mean every pounded drum skin, every jerking and voice-breaking chorus that’s sung, every elicit guitar string played, and every background nuance that’s only heard your third time through the album.  As debut albums go, this will be up there with the many that will be released this year.  As debut albums go by a band who almost nobody has heard of (they have 17 listeners on Last.fm), this is at the top, from this year and from last.

Watch out for these guys, this is a band to watch.

Their debut album “The Tunnel” is out on January 29th via Friction Records on Vinyl and CD, and if you happen to be in Grand Rapids, Michigan on that date, they’re doing an album release party.

Connect with Ghost Heart – Facebook | MySpace | Website | Last.fm

Ghost Heart – “No Canticle”
Ghost Heart – “Wilderness”
Ghost Heart – “Little Vampires”