It's a scary world, but it can sometimes be a comforting one too. That seems to be the message behind Ghosts Are Knocking on Walls, the just-released album from Portland's Everthing Is Fine. The brainchild of musician/artist Marc Manning, EIF is noteworthy for its multi-layered sound that fuses elements of folk, rock, campfire singalongs and No Depression-style alt country. Recorded at Philadelphia's Sound Gun Studios with a full band, Ghosts's songs are contemplative landscapes of yearning, be it for escape ("Over the Road," the DB Cooper-inspired "Vapor Trails and Light"), closure ("Cold Click"), or a new beginning ("Today Is the Day"). Despite the disc's often weighty subject matter, Manning infuses the songs with melodies--sometimes mellow, sometimes eruptive--that perfectly compliment their lyrics. This is aptly demonstrated in the following mp3: Everything Is Fine - Dark Houses "Dark Houses" brings to mind those times in life in which you'd give anything to be in another situation, a calmer one, surrounded by those you hold dear. In the song, the protagonist is thinking about the serenity given by things he loves after he suffers an unspecified trauma. Being rushed somewhere--to a hospital? to a safe haven?--in the back of the car, his mind races through a random series of thoughts of things that comfort him. As the song winds down, his unanswered queries of "what are you doing now?" give way to a sad realization of the immediate crisis at hand. It's thought-provoking stuff, but what makes this song even more memorable is how its wall of guitars, urgent drumming and Manning's vocals--textured with fear and vulnerability--explode into a sonic blast of disorientation. And it doesn't hurt that it's catchy as hell either. Visit Tract Records to learn more about Everything Is Fine, buy music and hear more mp3 samples. Additionally, check out the band's homepage and My Space page. Finally, hear a haunting cover of The Magnetic Fields' "The Dreaming Moon" over at It's Meaningless. buy the CD "GHOSTS ARE KNOCKING ON WALLS now!
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