Despite the name's collective identity, NIGHT GENES is primarily a vehicle for the songwriting talents of one Eric Ingersoll. Based in Boise, Idaho, Eric dips adroitly into Folk, Americana, Country and Indie guitar pop whilst skilfully dodging pigeonholes and thus ensures that the enigmatically-titled 'Two Phantoms & A Holy Ghost' is an arcane experience the curious will be glad they stumbled upon.
Opener 'Adipose Fin' immediately promotes this 'expect the unexpected' approach, with lone handclaps and well-struck acoustic guitar battling it out against wheezy, Neil Young-ish harmonica blasts and Ingersoll's likeably lugubrious voice which recalls the Silver Jews' David Berman more than anyone else to these ears. The drums are mixed unfeasibly loud and the track lurches forward, struggling to reconcile its' Folk elements with a natural urge to Rock. It doesn't entirely resolve the dilemma, but it's no less alluring for all that. Oh, and the word 'adipose' apparently pertains to 'animal fat' according to my trusty Oxford concise. Just thought you needed some clarification on that one.
The album continues to keep you guessing as it unfolds. Another early highlight is the excellent 'Forty-Two Souls', a wonderfully mournful lament, apparently about a plane crash ("forty-two bodies, many of whom were unfound") while the determinedly hedonistic 'Disposition Darlin' ("so let's head to the bar tonight") also pursues a Rock'n'Roll trail of sorts, admittedly in an uneasy Mark Eitzel kinda way.
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Instead of the expected mid-album sag, 'Two Phantoms...' proffers 'Northern Steel' – a bloodied but unbowed folk song of defiance - and immediately throws it into sharp relief courtesy of the almost-perky pop song of sorts '4th Estate'. Just in case the ride is getting too easy, however, 'Joseph' casts Ingersoll as a midwestern Nick Cave in a dark, would-be (murder?) ballad before the album turns its' final trick by ending on a surprise upbeat note courtesy of 'English Summer'. Instead of the spooked brood-athon I'd semi-expected, it's an almost-jaunty remembrance of a UK sojourn in London where Eric suggests you should "put your boots on and check out Spitalfields/ buy a screen print." It's an unlikely idea, but with its' spacy wash of keyboards and underlying wistfulness it's also very succesful and ensures you walk way with a smile on your face.
'Two Phantoms & A Holy Ghost', then, may not build a sonic cathedral, but it provides a place for quietly introspective worship as well as the occasional jolt to ensure you glance over your shoulder towards the empty stalls now and again. Drop by and take communion when you can, but maybe let someone else taste the wine first.
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