NeueHouse hosted Handsome Ghost for a Sunday afternoon set.
Neuehouse is a collective workspace; the house music and overall vibe is mellow. The canteen offers breakfast and a full bar. Framed by two sage velour couches is a stage area that faces a set of bleachers. Also included is full stage lighting. The crowd is less than fifty in number and age. It’s an intimate brunch set which compliments the music style of Handsome Ghost.
To begin, a simple backbeat supports the lucid solo voice of Tim Noyes. He coos a heavy lyric about being better. “Weight of it All” enchanted the crowd and was recently featured on MTV’s “Finding Carter.” Lead man, Noyes, is in a collared shirt, sports coat, and black jeans. He’s dressed like the high school English teacher he used to be. On back-up vocals, keyboard, and laptop is a man in khaki pants and a cardigan, probably used to monitor halls.
They mix live piano, acoustic guitar and vocals with pre-recorded spacey, digital beats. This medium mixing can be tricky. It’s the sound equivalent of going for a natural look with make-up. Equilibrium may be missed by too sharply accentuating one feature, you have seen the lip liner or heard the cacophony of the overzealous. Handsome Ghost treads this tightrope with skill, making the chill zone easy to find.
Their tune, “Steps” has summer song written all over it. The slo-jam portion of the afternoon was brought by a cover of British indie rockers, The 1975’s “Sex.” The set was wrapped up with a tune that is equal parts piano and electronica, “Blood Stutter.”
-Katie McCollom
