Handsome Ghost - Some Still Morning (2020)

Handsome Ghost’s new LP ‘Some Still Morning’ was made for the lonely fall - a gentle yet ghostly sound that has been perfected by the Massachusetts duo and caused Analogue to praise: “coming to terms has never sounded so beautiful.” And it’s out today through Photo Finish Records.

The album’s tracks are fortified with anecdotal reflections on loss, evolution, personal reckoning, and overcoming grief. Highlights include “Vampires,” which is romantically focused on trying to hold onto your fleeting youth, “Massachusetts,” an ode to the ways our memories can haunt us when it comes to love, “Christmas In Jersey” which was inspired by the tourists that come into our lives briefly, make an impression, and then disappear, and “Sunday Best,” possibly the most stirring track on the album, which explores the small nuanced details noticed the day of a funeral, recollecting the drive back to a hometown, checking into a rundown hotel, staying up late reminiscing.

“We struggled tremendously to find a sound for this record; we scrapped months of initial recordings. We started to have conversations about ending the project... But there was a freedom that came when we accepted that things might end. And it was that feeling that led to the sound of this record. It allowed us to strip everything back without a fear of failure; we embraced an intimacy that lets the lyrics and the stories they tell carry the songs.”

The album perfectly captures the reinvention of Handsome Ghost, a duo that achieved major milestones with their 2014 breakout single “Blood Stutter” (over 20 million cumulative streams) off their ‘Steps’ EP, followed by ‘The Brilliant Glow’ EP (which included “Eyes Wide” -- 16.5 million Spotify streams) and their acclaimed 2018 debut LP ‘Welcome Back.’ But the real breakthrough happened when they reentered the studio after their most recent tour to silent frustration and writers block as they tried to build on a sound they thought they needed to recreate, until a moment during a late-night recording session when the rising sun slowly seeped into the studio. It was a moment of renewal and washing away of preconceived expectations. The result is ‘Some Still Morning.’

“When we look at the past, it's easier sometimes to dwell on mistakes made, and wonder how it is we ended up here. These songs highlight the little moments that led us here - to just appreciate that they happened at all, good or bad. There's a sense of contentment that is present throughout 'Some Still Morning'. It didn't start that way - but we got there. That appreciative perspective weaves its way through the lyrics of the songs.”