$8.99
Released by Knick Knack Records, 2012
Speed Dial
Dog Day Afternoon
Tired
One More Round
"Ghost" picks up where their 2009 debut, "Hard Times", left off, albeit with a noticeable growth in musicality, songwriting and production. Equally influenced by classic American artists like Tom Petty, Gram Parsons as well as blues, modern folk and Bakersfield country, Lost Dogma typifies the bubbling undercurrent of Americana at its best. Their songs are unpretentious and heartfelt; sweeping, lush and haunting all in the same breath and all with an insistent beat and focused energy that let you know this is still a rock and roll band.
Lost Dogma consists of some of Seattle’s finest veteran musicians. Leading the band is former Dandilyon Soup singer/guitarist Rev. Toby C. Brady. The bass and guitar roles are Travis Hartman and Dave Brewer; both from The Bradbury Press, they also add the vocal harmonies that make the songs come to life. Drummer Michael Alex has played with The Missionary Position, Hart and the Hurricane as well as many other Seattle bands. Kent Halvorsen is the newest member and has played keyboards in Sky Cries Mary, and Manoogi Hi.
Since their last album the band has seen its share of triumph and tragedy, from traveling across the Northwest and garnering acclaim for the intensity of their live performances to the recent loss of keyboard player, Trey Tidwell, to cancer in 2011. "Part of the beauty of this record, to me," Brady says, "… because of Trey getting sick, we only had two or three takes on most of the songs and that was it." As for the marked upgrades in songwriting, sound and production, "we definitely set out to pay more attention to that stuff, but really it was a natural evolution."
Lost Dogma’s Zen-like approach to recording carries over to the multiple meanings of the album’s title as well, as Brady explains, "Obviously there’s a reference to Trey" As Brady explains, "I’ve always felt that when you create something, it’s an imprint of the past, and that’s the ghost right there; it’s a brief moment that lasts forever, and you hope to somehow capture it."