FORMER GHOSTS NEEDS YOUR HELP

I was incredibly psyched to see Former Ghosts (aka Jamie Stewart + Freddy Ruppert + Nika Roza, aka Xiu Xiu + This Song Is A Mess But So Am I + Zola Jesus) this Friday as a treat after a week of mid-term essays and non-stop reading, but alas, they've had to cancel because for reasons unbeknown to the public, the venue pulled out leaving these folks stranded.



Right now, they're looking for a place to play, otherwise there will be no Toronto show at all. So if anyone out there in the blogosphere can lend a helping plan, PLEASE contact ryancraven@theagencygroup.com .

This is guaranteed to be an amazing show, so someone, please, throw a bone to the fine folks in Former Ghosts.

Thanks

My holy bones are best for breaking.

I don't think I can throw enough "crossover"s or "post-"s into a genre description to make This Song Is A Mess But So Am I communicable in just words. Experimental-electro-noise-crossover? Harsh post-dance with industrial influence? -core?

This was a project started by Freddy Ruppert after the death of his mother, so as one can imagine, this album follows a frantic sort of emotional roller coaster. That being said, the variety works surprisingly coherently: from straight-up noise ("God and Cancer") to straight-up dance ("Song for Donna Ruppert") to acoustic experimentation ("High Fives for Jamie") to creep-rock ("Bones Bones Bones") to God knows what they are all tied together quite nicely, by both Ruppert's distinctive voice and the subject(s) at hand.



What really sets this apart from other experimental electronica, and in fact, most music as a whole is the passion behind this record. Every note and every word is absolutely meant which is far more than you can say for a distressingly large percentage of current artists. We're talking a pg.99 level of feeling here.

Appropriately, this project was laid to rest after it had run its course for Mr. Ruppert, at which time he graciously made all the project's material free for download. I'm still going to put up a couple MP3s in case you aren't quite ready to commit to a whole .zip file.

Since you can't support this band, give his new band, Former Ghosts a listen.

This Song Is A Mess But So Am I - God and Cancer
This Song Is A Mess But So Am I - Bedridden and Dancing



Is it just me or was this entry not as well-done as my others? Something feels off.