The Midnight Ghost Train - S/T

The Midnight Ghost Train from Topeka, Kansas must be one of the hardest working band around at the moment judging by the impressive upcoming show list on their Myspace site. The Midnight Ghost Train main man is guitarist/vocalist Steve Moss who also plays bass on the record. Brandon Burghart is on drums after joining around the time of the excellent Johnny Boy EP but the remarkable thing is all the guests that contribute to this fine CD, i will get to that later. The main feature and focal point of the band and this album is Steve Moss and his guitar tone and sound. Displaying some thick sludge with some good old desert rock fuzziness, its his sound which made me dig this CD from the very first spin. The best moments are the heavier ones like in "Die With Me" and the more doom ridden "The Swell". Not that the other tracks are not up to the same standard, it just when its heavy, the band seems to be really cooking. What sets this album apart from most in the scene is the different guest musicians on here that add some extra color and other dimensions to the band's songs. On the moody "Desert Red" you get some violin and cello and some vocals from Joseph Hester. Former drummer Jake Levin does a raw lead vocal on the track "Mustache" and is one of the albums strongest moments.

"River Slit" has some great fuzz rock playing especially when it comes to the lead playing which is great throughout the entire album. "They’re Burying Me Alive" features the back-up of Edward Jackson but this track is mostly a spoken word type of track and didn't really stand out as being one of the better tracks on offer here but still very listenable. With all these extra vocals, special mention must go out to Moss himself who has good vocals in their own right but the fact they have chosen all these extra vocalists just adds some uniqueness to this album as a whole. "Woman Of Hate" ends the official track-listing with some killer stoner groove but there is a hidden track that follows that is very much the most minimalist on the album. At the other end of the album is the opener "I Drink Your Blood" which is pretty much just a intro piece to "The Swell". The conclusion i reached after hearing this album is they one of the more unique bands in the stoner scene even though i don't know if the "stoner tag" applies too well here. There is a bluesy element to their playing as well as a fair degree of extended experimentation. Most of the songs are long with 6 songs all over 6 minutes but even the longest tracks don't drag on at all. There is a looseness to the songs that give off a bar-room vibe to the album which i love by the way and the way the album is always adding new elements keeps it interesting. There is nothing i would change about the album, even the weaker moments keeps me listening. One of the most underrated bands around at the moment, i hope they get some real recognition soon. 9/10

www.myspace.com/themidnightghosttrain