Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost

Modern Baseball
Holy Ghost
2016
Spotify

Emo for what it's worth has had a pretty up and down relationship to modern culture. At one point it was the pinnacle seeing Dashboard Confessional on MTV and hearing Death Cab for Cutie on the radio, then it became more of a niche joke and something to be ashamed of. At it's soul however it is not just crying over lost love, or being a disillusioned teen there is raw emotion and really good writing. That is where we land with Modern Baseball, the band that takes emo music and brings the best parts forward while letting the worst fall away. Forceful guitars, pounding drums and bright distortion all make up the sound of Holy Ghost but the real juice is in the heart. The band has gone through it with front man Brendan Lukens going to rehab and coming out about his depression and struggles with mental illness and that "life lived" aspect comes through on Holy Ghost. These are not tons of songs about girls that got away, though are some, and instead we find tracks about struggling to just live and how the road effects your life. "Mass" a song about being gone from someone, both physically and mentally, is rich and full of specifics that though foreign seem incredibly connected and relatable.

The punk sensibility is on Holy Ghost as well with songs hitting then stopping abruptly, and a driving deep bass line holding the rhythm down. The music is simple, but it works and has this bright quality that make some of the darker topics feel not so bleak. Like something straight out of 2004 there are lines upon lines here that should be AIM away messages like: "I'll be with you the whole way". The aggression is used to such great success on this record as well with songs like "Breathing In Stereo" having the right amount of anger in Lukens' voice begging for some clarity. Holy Ghost also feels much more polished than other Modern Baseball albums. One of their best assets was their organicness and the idea that they were just showing up and making this music happen, but on this album they are focused and have drilled the songs down into the sharpest spear they possibly could. That is why the album is so short as well (27:20) it is the bare bones of just what the song needs, no fluff. Holy Ghost seems to be a new wave in the emo genre, holding strong to the ideals of the past but allowing for  experimentation and for the music to take new shapes and fill new spaces. An album worth much more than it's short run time.

7.9 out of 10