Ghosts Along the Brazos

Ghosts Along the Brazos’ cross-genre rural music is so vanilla it makes Asleep at the Wheel sound like the Hells Angels. The local fivepiece plays a mix of blues, folk, swing, and jazz so gritless and sweet that it boils all the members’ influences down into sterile pop. That isn’t to say the locals aren’t talented. Gregory Harkins and Connor Forsyth punctuate most songs with fast-fingered solos on guitar and keys respectively, while Jacob Jaeger’s wink-and-smile vocals are palpable and magnetic. GATB has enough tricks up its sleeve to get through 10 songs without much repetition, mumble-mouthed ode to memory “I Forgot” imbued with the silly charm of Roger Miller and “Post-Apocalyptic Princess” demonstrating some lyrical imagination. Unfortunately, most of the songs aren’t clever beyond their titles and the music suffers from conventionality, so much so that GATB portrays itself as an artless wedding band.

*.5

This article appears in January 27 • 2012.

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