Album Review: The Ghost Wolves' 'Texa$ Platinum'

2017
16 songs
Length: 39:31
Available to buy on CD or vinyl or as a digital download from Bandcamp

The Ghost Wolves are a two-piece garage, punk rock band from Austin, Texas. Comprising Jonny Wolf on drums, synthesiser and vocals, and Carley Wolf on vocals and guitar; the band’s name was inspired by Carley’s upbringing among hybrid wolves on her family’s Texas ranch.The duo merge a variety of musical styles like blues, rock and roll, punk rock, roots and swamp rock to create their own style, which they’ve dubbed ‘stomp 'n roll.’

The Ghost Wolves formed in 2010 and released their debut EP ‘In Ya Neck’ in 2011, followed by the seven inch ‘Getchya Hip Thrust.’ The band released their first full length album ‘Man, Woman, Beast’ in 2014 through the Nashville label, Plowboy Records. ‘Texa$ Platinum’ is the second full length album from The Ghost Wolves.

‘Texa$ Platinum’ has a raw sound that blends the genres of punk rock and blues masterfully. Searing, dirty guitars and untamed, pounding drums characterise the album, while the tracks are all really short and sharp. The opening track ‘Attitude Problem’ is distinctly punk, with high energy, distorted guitar riffs and Carly’s jarring vocals preaching rebellion and non-conformance. Other markedly punk tracks are ‘Journey On’ with it’s up tempo, simple and repetitive guitar riff, and ‘Whettin’ My Knife,’ which incorporates the band’s signature dirty guitars and Carly’s defiant vocals with some simple piano and synth that sounds like laser guns from a low-budget, 1960's science fiction film. Incidentally, outer space inspired synth springs up on various tracks throughout the album.

Most of the tracks on ‘Texa$ Platinum’ are blues heavy though. ‘Strychnine in My Lemonade,’ combines a bluesy bassline and up-tempo boogie style drumming with some crunchy guitar work for a blues rock feel. ‘Bunny Run,’ is tinged with bluegrass and ‘Triple Full Moon,’ is punk rock infused hillbilly blues. Blues rock is The Ghost Wolves bread and butter and they know how to serve it up every which way. The band has a sense of fun too, and their jovial style and blues country twang remind me of another American rock band, Southern Culture on the Skids.

Carley’s southern drawl and ‘heavy on the twang’, crunchy guitar riff coupled with Jonny’s easy going, pounding blues drumming make ‘Shouldn’t Have Lied’ the stand out track on the album. They could be channelling The White Stripes here, and they do it superbly. It’s a dramatic, impossibly cool number on which Jonny’s drumming shines.

The Ghost Wolves are an awesome punk rock band with a knack for a multitude of blues styles. With ‘Texa$ Platinum’ they have fused them all together to make one fine psychobilly album. It’s fun and it freaking rocks! ‘Texa$ Platinum’ will be on high rotation at my house for some time to come.