Sunken treasure: Heavy Ghost by DM Stith

The ghosts in David Stith’s machines are of indeterminate provenance. Whatever it is that haunts them we can only wonder about while we marvel at the eerily skewed and spooky sounds he coaxes from their bones.

At heart, this debut record is full of beautiful ideas but the beauty is susceptible to dramatic mutation and nothing is ever quite as it seems. The songs start off in conventional ways and seem to have definite plans about where to go but the route he takes is always the lesser- known path to the waterfall.

Stith balances subtly lopsided sonics with his tender and beautifully melodic phrases. The way the strumming of simple chords is offset with audibly loud scraping on the strings is a case in point. It’s the tension between these elements that makes this high wire act so compelling.

Stith is adept at painting dreamlike pastoral scenes outfitted with hypnotic murmurings from distant choirs and wistful orchestral flourishes. The soft-spoken vocals accentuate the reverie, drawing the listener in with spectral whisperings. The skill with which he creates these landscapes is such that the hints of something darker in the undertow are subtly masked so as to minimize alarm.

But the darkness that lurks in the shadows is an indelible part of this record’s charm. The push and pull between the sweet and the strange is expertly calibrated. There are striking shifts from minor to major chords and dissonant mood swings rock this boat without knocking it off course.

Here is a classic example of how the modern day musical auteur can conjure fantastical visions in beautiful isolation. Heavy Ghost is full of dramatic shifts in light and shade. It's a sprawling statement from a singular voice.