What I loved about the last Coo-Ghou LP was the complete lack of cynicism for the jangly psych that influenced it. It seemed like they were the type of band that, regardless of what was happening around them, would go their own way and forge their own sound. That trend is in full flux on Cool Ghouls’ latest, A Swirling Fire Burning Through The Rye, an effort replete with more twists than the last outing (including a scary ode to Fleet Foxes and a sideways nod to BJM) and a dose of melodic stoner enthusiasm you’ll find oddly familiar. “What A Dream I Had” is another example of the all-ambition, zero-pretension zeitgeist of the Ghouls, psych’d up to the nines, serving up snappy melodies, and segueing into a Byrds-y breakdown that forms a chain from the last record to the present. Perhaps the sequel to “I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night”? Perhaps not, and “Orange Light” is even better, with bass lines straight out of a Plates Of Cake cut and full of that sun-kissed swagger these dudes wager their livelihoods on. I will admit there’s a bit of a lull: After burning up Side A A Swirling Fire tanks out just a bit on B. Less cohesion, not as many joyous vibes/mellow melodies. Still a solid effort, still a luscious (and limited) red-orange, splatter-wax piece of splendor you’ll want revolving in a pie case in your record room. Do what it takes.
More about: Cool Ghouls
