Full disclosure: I love Grizzly Bear. I think that “Two Weeks” is the greatest song I’ve ever heard, I love Daniel Rossen’s voice, and Ed Droste’s Twitter is one of the best. I’m not obsessed with them, but there will be no disrespecting the Bear while I’m around. Enter Ghost Cousin, a band that could be easily labelled poor man’s Grizzly Bear, rich man’s Poor Moon; however they have truly a unique sound that will one day be only theirs.
Scotland is an album that too few people have heard. After listening to it only once, I found myself humming the tune of “Healed Eyes” while darkly brooding. The deliberate rhythm of the album is mesmerizing and gives way to delicate guitar riffs, as in “Run Home.” The songwriting is poetic, creating stories with characters that you grow attached to: a mother, a son, a lover, an enemy. Each track is very endearing, each character a part of your life whether you knew them before or not.
Ghost Cousin is a fairly new band, only having released an EP, “Landscape of Animals,” before this. They are still underwhelmed by the industry it seems, after recording most of this album in a church in their hometown of Edmonton, Canada. They will know the headache of record companies and labels once they come into fame, which I predict will be fairly soon. At least, I hope so; I don’t want to see Ghost Cousin leave the spotlight for a long while.
Scotland is out now, and you can hear it below. For more information on Ghost Cousin, visit their Facebook.
The Music Court 
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