Have you ever heard a song and immediately thought to yourself that shit man, that’s effin’ beautiful? Like, it maybe makes you sit for a second or politely pause to take a moment to yourself to perhaps indulge in some casual reflection? I’m sure you have. It happens to all of us. It’s why I’m advocating for a national Hootie Day (#hootieday.)
Now recently I was taken aback by a song and was overcome and completely enamored with the beauty of it. It’s by the Ghost of Paul Revere. They’re from Maine, which means I’d like them regardless, but thankfully, the fact that they write songs like “Montreal” make their origin story more of a bonus than anything else.
The song is the first single off of their upcoming album Monarch, which is set to be released on October 27. The band dropped “Montreal” a week or so ago and while I was down with it then and excited to hear something new from the band, for some unexplained reason, it took seeing the video for the song to really seal the deal for me. There is something about the sweeping camera work in the video, how it seems to echo the swaying sound of the song, that brought everything together. “Montreal” sounds like an exercise in reflection and nostalgia and then the video comes out and looks like an exercise in reflection and nostalgia. There’s a “we’re all in this together” vibe to both that given the reality of current situation (spoiler: our president might be the worst kind of crazy,) is refreshing and makes for a welcome song for a Friday, the last day of summer…or is it the first day of Fall? I don’t know, it’s warm out so it’s summer in my heart.
Heading into the workplace this morning, I was prepared to listen to “Montreal” on repeat all morning. Then the band went and dropped another song from Monarch and the plan changed. “Little Bird” is more upbeat and old-timey, foot-stomping than “Montreal,” but oddly enough, it digs down deep for the same sense of camp fire camaraderie that “Montreal” had.
“Little Bird” was one of the new songs Ghost of Paul Revere played when I saw them back in late April and upon hearing it this morning, immediately recalled stomping my foot with the beat and clapping my hands high above my head with that special kind of vigor reserved for my parents of a firecracker toddler out for the first time in months. That show, which was the first time I had ever seen the holler-folkin’ dudes from the great state of Maine, was a revelation of sorts. Before that night they had only existed via Spotify. Seeing them live added a new dimension to them for me in a way a live show does for those special few bands that have that extra gear. They had more power than I expected and while I waited for songs from their new album to come, I was growing increasingly interested to see if that power would translate to the studio, especially since they’d be backed by one of my favorite drummers Tony McNaboe. McNaboe’s brand of in the pocket pop and back beat professionalism would no doubt be an interesting addition to the band’s sound. I waited anxiously.
It would then be perfectly natural to think that a song like “Montreal” could be seen as one that would throw someone like me for a loop. Not so, my friend. It’s power was just added in different ways because Ghost of Paul Revere are smarter than me. “Little Bird” felt more like what I was expecting. Either way, as a one-two punch, I have to admit that Monarch is easily the album I am most looking forward too this fall.
Monarch will be released on October 27 and Ghost of Paul Revere have just set out on a country-spanning and traversing fall tour, dates for which you can find here.
Categories: Music
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