Sutton Althisar’s Beautiful Electro-folk Track ‘the Ghost’ [stream]

Sutton Althisar – The Ghost SoundCloud

My interest in Sutton Althisar’s latest single, “The Ghost”, began as soon as I saw that it was labeled “electro-folk”. Those two genres are rarely combined well, and music that’s truly “electro-folk” often gets lumped into “indie” or “experimental” because people don’t know what to make of it. As soon as I listened, though, I realized exactly what “electro-folk” means: “The Ghost” is simultaneously haunting and catchy — a spacey arrangement complimented by folk-driven harmonies and simple, honest lyrics about love and loss. The chorus: “I will pour still more of this love / if I never get another touch the ghost will be enough / and I will pour still more of this love” reads like Fleet Foxes but sounds like The Knife, and it’s stunning. With “The Ghost”, as well as his other music, especially “Fire and Smoke” and “Devotion”, Sutton Althisar is navigating new musical territory. Given what he’s done so far, we couldn’t imagine a better captain.