((That Ghost)) Band Profile and Upcoming Los Angeles Concerts - Oh My Rockness

That Ghost is nineteen-year-old Ryan Schmale of Sonoma County, California (live, he has a full band). Schmale makes spacey and dreamy, lo-fi bedroom pop that's often hauntingly hushed. This makes the perfect music to put on when you want to take a trippy magic ride somewhere... like Disneyland... yeah, that's right kids...a magic ride to, uh, Disneyland.

When That Ghost's tempos go up and get a little fuzzier, you can kind of hear a Wavves resemblance (That Ghost has played shows with Wavves and that comparison crops up a lot). But I like this band best when their croons go slow and low --- you know --- Nick Drake meets Cass McCombs style.

There's also a nice touch of psych-y drone to Schmale's acoustic guitar style that leads to a sort of hypnotic effect. It's catchy in a spellbinding sort of way. And mesmerizing audio hypnosis is just what you want when all you really want to do is sit back and embark on a hazy and trippy magic ride to... Disneyland... of the MIND, dude. Disneyland of THE MIND!

Published November 18, 2009