My Own Little World

Over the past several years, music has been undergoing a return to roots at the same time as it has been going forward. Folk music is back in the limelight, with groups like Mumford and Sons and solo artists like Vance Joy and Sufjan Stevens providing a renaissance of sorts to the genre. Of course, besides the countless radio singles Mumford has brought to the table, The Lumineers are probably the best-known group in this new folk revival, with their smash hit "Ho Hey" from their debut self-titled album. However, recently a question has arisen within this group of artists: where do we go from here? Many of these bands it seems have two choices: stay the same or go to a different genre. Some listeners are having a little bit of folk fatigue, it seems, so artists are being forced to consider which direction they should go. Now, The Lumineers' first album was a little bit of fresh air even within its own genre because of its incredibly bare-bones recording techniques...

Very few bands have struck me the way Ghost Ship did with their debut The Good King . The production was minimalist to a fault, their Americana stylings meshed in a weird but good way with their indie rock base, and the lyrics struck me as oddly theologically rooted. I liked, but couldn't love. Now, two years after their debut, Ghost Ship is back to prove that their debut's success wasn't a fluke with their sophomore effort, Costly . Right away, I can tell that the production quality has greatly improved. While I usually consider this a flaw for folksier music like this, for Ghost Ship it works because of their odd style mash-up of indie rock and Americana. I felt like The Good King  was very weighted throughout because of its hollow production that focused my ears on the lyrics too much. On Costly , not only is the sound blended better, but it's changed quite a bit as well. It's progressed from an indie rock sound with occasional folk elements to something re...