Words by Peter Tanski
Nashville, Tennessee is not necessarily known for palm trees, but it certainly has its share of ghosts. It is a town that’s synonymous with the mainstream country music machine, yet in truth, that metropolis of melody is literally teeming with independent artists taking big swings and forging songs in a crucible of artistic fertility. Palm Ghosts have incubated and thrived in this southern Mecca, and their most recent release – the 3 pronged attack Facades, re-calibrates their already concise and literate approach of gloom-pop ecstasy and post-punk plasticity.
Off Shelf: Facades, your second release with Sweet Cheetah, was originally released as 4 seasonal EPs. Was this done to reflect the content and mood of each group of tracks?
Joseph Lekkas: Yes, Each specific EP had a different mood and subject matter.
OS: When last we had spoken, you were still sitting on a massive amount of recorded material in your hard drive. Are any of the tracks on Facades representative of that cache of material?
JL: Yep! There were quite a few songs on Facades that were two or even four years old but fit perfectly with more recent songs.
OS: The state of underground music has drastically changed over the past decade, with more and more artists that are Gen X’ers sticking it out and offering up projects that actually resonate with youth culture. How has this phenomenon made itself apparent to you?
JL: Definitely at the shows. We see young people enjoying and understanding the music like a Gen X’er. Its nice to see that age doesn’t matter as much as it once did. It’s all about the music.
OS: How does this new point of view on midlife rockers changed the demographic at Palm Ghosts shows?
JL: It has certainly mixed it up. There are people from 18-60+ in our audiences and it’s amazing to see!
OS: Do you both feel that the state of “youth culture “ still withholds prescient points of view in a sonic landscape still dominated by Nashville and EDM?
JL: It’s much less of a monoculture than my youth, but I think the kids are open to more genres and styles these days. I think music might not be the cultural driver that it once was but I also think it’s much better in many ways to be a musician than it was in my twenties. It’s easier to reach your audience and the kids are alright.
OS: Facades takes more sonic turns than your previous album, I Love You, Burn In Hell. That was a phenomenal showing with varied elements, but this recording pulls not only from post punk and Britpop, it harkens back to Simon and Garfunkel and even Simon’s Graceland. Were you both taking a backward glance at your musical pasts?
JL: I don’t think we always think of what we do in terms of genres or appealing to a certain audience. So, there’s always going to be a mix in there. Also, you may hear Graceland and some may hear Vampire Weekend or even The Smiths – three bands that folks have quoted as influences on Through The Grove, as a matter of fact! People’s ears and musical backgrounds are so diverse these days!
OS: A smattering of covers emerged this past year, from Radiohead, the Chameleons, INXS, to REM’s most divine moment, “Losing My Religion”. Are these choices as aurally autobiographical as I’d surmised?
JL: Yes, certainly! All of those bands are huge influences on the band.
OS: Adding to the covers and four EPs , you also released a singles and B-sides compilation and a split single with Braid’s Chris Broach. After such a busy and fervent 2024, what does 2025 have in store from the Palm Ghosties?
JL: I think this year we will have another record out at the top or middle of the year. This one is already sequenced, largely very new material recorded together, unlike most of our other records. The theme is the thought that musicians are no longer artists but content providers, hint hint. After that perhaps some more covers and maybe a few splits with some friends. Who knows, my friend!
OS: Aside from the quarterly release style and nods to unconventional inspirations, how does Facades differ from the rest of your body of work personally?
JL: It’s much longer and segmented into very different feelings and vibes. It also was released one song at a time, which might be the way to release music these days. It keeps the band in the conversation for an entire year and each song gets the attention it deserves. Spotify is really a social media app and that’s how we’ll treat it moving forward.
OS: Are we at the advent of a sea change in your sonic palette?
JL: Always.
OS: Setting aside financial and logistical stumbling blocks, what artist working today would you believe to be the perfect touring partner for this era of the band?
JL: We’d love to open for Peter Gabriel, but nobody opens for Peter Gabriel so it’ll never be a possibility. His sonic palate and artistic excellence is not referenced or appreciated as much as it should be. He’s the very best, in my humble opinion.
OS: How has the political climate of late inspired the Palm Ghosts songs to come?
JL: The state of the union and the world always inspire us, lyrically.