By JOHN DALY

There’s a philosophy to Ghostly Beard’s mystery.

“Not showing my face is a choice I’ve made as a reaction to our self/image-obsessed society, and it goes with my message which is to put the music forward and forget the faces. What I look like, who I am is unimportant in the end,” he said.

It’s a heck of a statement for someone who writes and performs such clearly transparent and easygoing music.

This jazzy pop-style of music you can actively listen to and appreciate the lyrics or you can have on in the background to let it enter your brain in a stealthy style.  Either way, this is an album that can be heard again and again.

“A Reason To Leave” video:

 

The new album, Inward, is comprised of a good variety of tunes. “The Love in Your Eyes” is a beautiful 1960s style rythmic guitar with a touch of Samba style.  The mellow “Let It Rain,” accents Ghostly Beard’s nice light style, in a Pink Floyd fashion. “Going Away” is an upbeat pop song that juxtaposes the rush of life with a fun melody, underscoring the desire to take off and go.

“Let Go” is a serenade in a Jose Feliciano sort of style, “Night Train” sounds like Donovan with a nice catchy guitar riff, blended with Grateful Dead.

You can hear the influences of Todd Rundgren and 1980s style mellow jazzy pop, along the lines of Michael Frank.

Artist Name: Ghostly Beard
Location: Montreal, QC, Canada
Release Name: Inward
Release Date: May 04, 2018
Label: Independent
Producer: Patrick Talbot
Track List:
1. How Does It Feel?
2. The Love in Your Eyes
3. Gone
4. Autumn Blues
5. Night Train
6. Let Go
7. It Doesn’t Matter
8. 9 to 5 (Barely Alive)
9. Let It Rain
10. Going Away

Musicians:
Patrick Talbot: All instruments and vocals
Emma Caiman: Guest vocal on “Night Train”
Sarah Talbot: Guest vocal on “Going Away”
Styles: Classic rock, Progressive rock, Jazz fusion, Soft rock