With three albums of pulverizing blues rock already under their belts in a little more than four years of recording, it would have been easy for Ghost Hounds to stay in that fertile lane with their newest album. Yet the best bands find a way to stay true to their core while also stretching their artistic capabilities to novel, exciting areas. That’s just what this Pittsburgh-bred group has done with their new record First Last Time, which finds them deftly slipping into Johnny Cash-style country, mid-tempo balladry, even back-porch folk with the same virtuosity they’ve shown in the past when in their bluesy wheelhouse.
Videos by American Songwriter
The new album is their first for Gibson Records, and they make their new business partners proud. It’s not just because ace guitarists Thomas Tull and Johnny Baab indulge in high-wire fretboard wizardry (although there’s certainly plenty of that). First Last Time finds the quintet (also including bassist Bennett Miller, drummer Blaise Lanzetta, and singer Tré Nation) perfecting their studio approach in much the same way they bring it onstage, both as a headliner and as a supporting act for everyone from Garth Brooks to The Rolling Stones.
“I have a pretty eclectic personal music taste,” Tull tells American Songwriter about the band’s diversity. “The Stones are my all-time favorite band, and I’m a huge blues fan. But sometimes, country can be a close cousin. Wandering a little bit in that direction, having the latitude to be a little diverse, there’s great freedom in that. This album is a little bit different in having that space to wander. I’m really proud of it because one of the greatest things in any artistic expression is to be able to make something and say, ‘Yep, that’s exactly what I wanted to say.’”
Going into making the record, Tull was confident his band possessed the flexibility to pull off the genre moves. “Just the talent level and the confidence level of the musicians, there’s something to be said for that,” he explains. “But I think what’s more important is the chemistry and the ability of the band to musically finish each other’s sentences. There’s no substitute for time on the road, time in the studio, and the ability to build up chemistry, trust, and all those other things. That gives you tremendous freedom and confidence that you’re going to walk in and not have to say, ‘Geez, I don’t know if we can pull this off.’
Tull also indulges in new shades of his songwriting this time around, from the contemplative strains of the title track and “Here No More,” to the sly humor running through “Let’s Sleep On It Together.” “I have to have some story, some narrative, some anchoring end to who the characters in the song are, where they are in life, what the point of view is,” he says of his technique. “I have to have some backstory. It just helps me.”
On top of that, Nation is able to sell anything the band throws at him, thanks to his malleable vocals. “The guy is just so talented,” Tull says of the lead singer. “One of the things that I just marvel at every time I’m standing next to him, listening to him sing, is he’s able to go from blues to gospel to rock ’n’ roll to just belting things out. I’ll look at him and say, ‘You made me look a hell of a lot better,’ just because the performance is so compelling. He’s just such an amazingly talented person.”
If you need any further indication of the variety of styles on the record, look at the cover choices. First, there’s “Hot Dog,” with Baab channeling Jimmy Page on the ripsnorting Led Zeppelin track. And, to close out the album, Ghost Hounds drops a gorgeous take on John Denver’s evergreen “Country Roads.”
Lest you think that the band has forgotten what brought them here, First Last Time opens up with a potent one-two punch of blues rock (“home base,” as Tull calls it) in “Last Train to Nowhere” and “Dirty Angel.” Ghost Hounds has already heard the boisterous reaction to the new material from giving it test runs on stage while opening up for some of those aforementioned superstar acts. “In most endeavors, you have to strike the balance between the confidence that you belong and can pull it off and the paranoia that you need to work really, really hard to earn that and maintain that,” laughs Tull about the band’s experiences on the road.
However the album might be received, Tull feels that Ghost Hounds have already cleared the internal bar set by the band with First Last Time. “When there are just so many entertainment choices and attention-seeking things to engage with in the world, being authentic is the best currency you can have, making sure that we’re making stuff that we love and are proud of,” he says. “If there are any metrics, it’s about continuing to build a fan base that wants to see the band live and enjoys the music we’re putting out. But the first metric that I think about is as a band, we listened to the record and we’re happy. The world is going to react how they’re going to react. But this was a blast to put together; we love playing the songs, and we love playing together.”
Partnership
First Last Time will be the first record that Ghost Hounds releases on Gibson Records. A longtime Les Paul enthusiast, Tull rhapsodizes about the opportunity to join the label. “Since I was a little kid, thinking about actually owning and playing a Gibson Les Paul was the holy grail to me,” he explains. “The name has meant something to me my entire life. I think it’s one of the most iconic American and global brands out there. It means something instantly to musicians. To be able to partner with them, have them put the record out, and be so genuinely enthusiastic about the band and the music, they’ve been fantastic. Sitting back and seeing them putting the record out means a great deal to me personally.”
Check out their latest release, ‘Last Train to Nowhere,” below.
First Last Time Album Tracklist:
1. “Last Train To Nowhere”
2. “Dirty Angel”
3. “First Last Time”
4. “Make It Shake”
5. “Let’s Sleep On It Together”
6. “Here No More”
7. “Love You Too Hard”
8. “Chasing You”
9. “Hot Dog”
10. “Country Roads”
