Sun Pinned On Ghost Sky is the second album by Oxford based Southern gothic rockers The August List who are husband and wife Martin and Kerraleigh Child with Ryan Quarterman, Tommy Longfellow, Ben Heaney and Gary Richardson. The album was recorded at home produced by Martin Child and then mastered by Michael Lawrence.
The album opens with The Duplex Phase a southern gothic tale of fear and shame over a slow fiddle and guitar riff, allowing the vocals to ruminate in the darkness being brewed up.
Sun Dogs opens in a spare reflective backing for this tale to burst out of, guitars come crashing in and Kerraleigh Child tells us of how the stone is crushed inside her, the echo and reverb lead her on her way, this seems to grow into a vast cavernous pit.
Bear National Anthem has loads of odd synth effects and jangly guitars, for this most unanthemic anthem, to the wonders of bears and the love they feel for each other while making new discoveries.
Ghost In The Head builds around a bass and floor tom rhythm with hand claps for Keraleighs ghostly tale to evolve, before the wildly out there guitar squiggles across the speakers, trying to sound like a stylophone, can she ever get that Ghost In The Head to leave her head, how should she exorcise it, with a total guitar meltdown that leaves her with a grain of sand in the palm of her hand of course.
So It Goes opens in a rather ethereal way, they ask all the questions they need answered, for how you live in this modern world without going totally nuts, So It Goes is used in classic Kurt Vonnegut style, no matter what happens the answer is always So It Goes.
The album closes with Zozobra a dark tale of burning effigies and what the conflagration could mean, for how life really turns out, can they avoid fucking life up again, among the slow organ tones and acoustic guitars they strum carefully, trying to avoid any bum notes that would destroy the moment of clarity and beauty they seem to chase from within that reverie.
Find out more at https://theaugustlist.bandcamp.com/album/sun-pinned-on-ghost-sky https://www.facebook.com/theaugustlistmusic/?locale=en_GB https://www.instagram.com/theaugustlist
