Ola Podrida – Ghosts Go Blind
Western Vinyl, 2013
Ola Podrida’s third album is hauntingly beautiful, and I’m
not just saying that because it’s called Ghosts
Go Blind and features myriad references to ghosts. Ok, maybe that’s part of
it, but the rich atmospherics David Wingo brings to these folk-rooted indie
rock songs makes Ghosts Go Blind
sound like the sort of music one should listen to while driving around on Texas
backroads in the middle of the night. Wingo is a Texan, of course. With all the
backwards, bible thumpin’ tendencies of the Lone Star State, it’s easy to
forget about that little liberal oasis called Austin. Wingo’s day job consists
of scoring the films of Austin-based filmmakers David Gordon Green (going back
go Green’s debut George Washington)
and Jeff Nichols (whose most recent movie Mud
is easily one of the best films of 2013). In a way, you could consider Ola
Podrida a side project, and considering how busy Wingo stays on the film
scoring front, it’s amazing that he was able to craft an album as rich as Ghosts Go Blind.
After a dozen listens, it becomes apparent that Ghosts Go Blind is an exceedingly tight
record. It’s full of big, atmospheric guitars (Wingo recently worked with
fellow Texans and atmospheric post-rock juggernaut Explosions in the Sky for
David Gordon Green’s latest film Prince
Avalanche, and it sounds like maybe some of their effects pedals rubbed off
on him), somber songwriting, and gorgeous little melodies shepherded along by
Wingo’s plain yet incredibly affecting vocals. It’s a beautiful record. Have I
mentioned that already? The excellent opener “Not Ready to Stop” is a little
deceptive. It’s got a little swagger to it where the rest of the album is often
quiet and fragile at times (like track two, the achingly gorgeous and sad
“Fumbling for the Light”). Album highlight “Staying In” is probably the most
representative of what Wingo and Ola Podrida are trying to accomplish. It
combines the rich, wall of sound-ish atmospheres, sad aching beauty, and a
toe-tapping tempo. Ghosts Go Blind is
a thoughtful, elegant indie-rock record that seems destined to be overlooked despite
standing amongst the best albums of the year.
"Staying In"
"Not Ready to Stop"
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