jeffrey foucalt ghost repeater

Jeffrey Foucault: Ghost Repeater

I previously posted about Jeffrey Foucault last summer when I first

stumbled upon the mp3s available on his website. I finally acquired

his latest release, Ghost Repeater, and was unsurprised to find that

the music it contains is just as pretty and poetic as the songs I'd

already heard. Foucault thanks fellow singer-songwriter and Signature

Sounds label mate, Peter Mulvey, in the liner notes of the album, and

I think that's a good indication of the quality of the music found

therein. His sound is similar to Mulvey's, and that of Ryan Adams

during his Whiskeytown days. The album is a strong mix of

alterna-country, blues, folk, roots rock, and a large amount of

Americana. It is quite possibly the perfect album for a cross country

road trip.

The grandly panoramic, harmonica and guitar driven title track starts

things off very well. A "Ghost Repeater" is one of many empty radio

stations scattered across America for the purpose of re-broadcasting

inoffensive MOR playlists designed to appeal to the mindless masses.

It's a fitting title for a song inspired by and pointing accusingly

toward the numbing of American minds and life by big corporations,

with lyrics like "everyone's buying what no one can sell" and "it's a

buyer's market when you sell your soul".

The travel centric tale "Americans In Corduroys" has a slower pace as

the music fades into the background beneath Jeffrey's throaty vocals.

The social commentary is balanced and blended with detailed hints at

Foucalt's marriage, which was newly formed when he began writing the

songs for the album.

"I Dream An Old Lover" is even slower, fusing a bluesy sound with a

old fashioned cowboy ballad tone. "One For Sorrow" is a buoyant ode to

love and marriage that picks the pace back up with a touch of pedal

steel.

"Train To Jackson" begins a string of highlights on the album with a

good ole Western outlaw epic featuring a solid blues undertone

courtesy of legendary guitarist Bo Ramsey.

"One Part Love" has a Springsteen quality to it with detailed,

storytelling lyrics and a rare sincerity and depth to the vocals and

music. "Wild Waste And Welter" has a country-blues swagger with

gorgeous and scenic prose.

"City Flower" again recalls early Ryan Adams or latter day Tom Petty

with a foot tappin' beat, gravelly vocals, and lyrics that conjure up

images of big city skylines at night and endless horizons beyond the

dusty roads winding through America's heartland.

"Tall Grass In Old Virginy" is another grand song that sounds just as

bluesy and countrified as the title would suggest. Next is the

Southwestern love song "Mesa, Arizona", which again references the

title of the album.

"Appeline" closes out this entirely excellent collection with a

perfect mix of the album's dual theme of American weariness and the

hope of new love.

Jeffrey Foucault - Ghost Repeater

Jeffrey Foucault - Americans In Corduroys

Jeffrey Foucault - One Part Love

You can download mp3s from Jeffrey's previous albums here.

Jeffrey Foucault's Official Site

Jeffrey on MySpace

Signature Sounds

Buy the album