Ghost Hounds - "First Last Time"

Ghost Hounds are a Pittsburgh-based band whose sound sits at the intersection of Rock, Blues, and Country. This is their fourth album, with their first three releases having come out in 2019, 2021, and 2022.

Everything is big with this band’s sound, with rare exception. Vocalist Tre Nation is exceptionally good at the more energetic tracks. He attacks relentlessly, and it’s pretty damned impressive. This guitars, as well, love to soar and provide big accompaniment, and these tracks likely sound great live.

However, that doesn’t make up for how uninspired the songs, themselves, are. Most of the tracks are part- and sex-anthems, which isn’t necessarily a detractor in itself, but it’s been so broadly done, and there’s nothing original or compelling about these songs, by and large.

Opener “Last Train to Nowhere” starts the album off strong, and is likely the best track in the collection. It’s then followed by “Dirty Angel”, which is good enough for the first three minutes, but then gets lost in repeating the title relentlessly for the final third of the song. Title track “First Last Time” is the first time the album slows down, and is one of the better tracks, too, despite that the intro sounds, I swear, like it was lifted straight from a Lonestar or Rascal Flatts song.

I could continue the track-by-track breakdown, but the overall theme is that pretty much every track is half-baked at best, despite that they all feel like they’ve set each one up on territory that’s already well-traveled.

Which is disappointing to the extreme, because Ghost Hounds’ core sound is catchy as hell. It feels fun and soulful and they should be competing for serious honors with the talent that feels obviously present. But their rushed release schedule has hindered their creative process. There’s no editing happening.

All of this is especially obvious when the album is so short and has no theme or throughline. There are only ten tracks, and it’s all over in just 33 minutes. And the final track is a cover of John Denver’s “Country Roads”. And it’s impossible to ruin that song, but it’s also damn hard to make a compelling cover.

Rating: Orange