Seattle-based band
the Moondoggies have been called an Americana band drawing on influences ranging from
the Band to
the Byrds and
the Flying Burrito Brothers, but on this, the group's third album, there isn't a whole lot of folk Americana or rootsy country going on, and they sound more like a cross between mid-period
R.E.M. and
Fleet Foxes, filling the melodies and songs out with three-part harmonies, obviously the group's strong suit. The album opens and closes with short, 28-second wordless vocal harmonies ("I'm a Ghost" opens things here and "Adiós I'm a Ghost" closes things out) that really do show the parallels between this band and
Fleet Foxes, while in between is a set of songs with sturdy melodies that seem to hang together but still present a fair amount of variety. Highlights include the jaunty, bouncing "Midnight Owls," "Start Me Over," and the organ-led "Don't Ask Why," but there's an overall coherent arc to this record that makes songs that are maybe lesser entities seem stronger and part of a whole. Recorded with producer Ryan Hadlock at Bear Creek Studios,
Adiós I'm a Ghost falls somewhere between the band's critically lauded sophomore release
Tidelands, which was full of thoughtful atmospherics, and the looser, rowdier debut album
Don't Be a Stranger. ~ Steve Leggett