Case Studies- The World is Just a Shape to Fill the Night

The Duchess and the Duke made two of the best records of the past few years, and the male half of that duo and the primary songwriter (I presume), Jesse Lortz, is back with a new name but a similar game. Dark ballads about loss and longing and ghosts. Being haunted recurs in this dude's lyrics, and usually the spectors come in the form of lost loves, or maybe just one. We get more female harmonizing, but it's not quite as aching as her majesty's, at least to these ears, and while I'm pretty sure this guy can't write a bad song, these don't quite reach the heights of those D&D efforts. And after three albums of unrelenting gloom and pining, maybe a hint from old Townes Van Zandt, the king of the moody brooder- drop a comic line or two to lighten the listener's load.  Few lives were as dark as TVZ's, but he always seemed to get that tragedy had its absurdly comic sides. If you just got dumped, this might be the record of your life, but for those muddling through, a little variety would make the haunt that much creepier.  An ironic little jig before that breakfast whiskey and those wistful looks out that stained dormer window might at least acknowledge that in the 24 hours of your pain, at least a few moments are weird.  That said, I'd buy anything the man put out, even his new take on the death knell.