Ghosts are one of the oldest and most obvious metaphors there are — our pasts come back to quite literally haunt us, our memories and regrets and traumas manifesting themselves with a frighteningly familiar face. In Chinese Buddhism and folk religion, hungry ghosts are the spirits of the greedy and the selfish reborn as ravenous creatures, cursed with mouths so tiny that they can never sate themselves. On “Hungry Ghost,” Johanna Warren transposes that concept from the purely spiritual realm to the personal, lamenting, “They say that what you give is what you get/ I gave you everything and all I got is a lot of regret,” stretching out the last syllable in “regret” like a wistful sigh. Her voice sounds as ancient and timeless as ever, but the music around it sounds more earthbound than usual, granted weight and heft by Jim Bertini’s drums and flickers of almost psychedelic guitar. “The thing is, I try to forget it but it’s here to stay,” she sings, and so is her music, its presence felt even after the last echo dies down
Johanna Warren – Vocals, guitars, bass, percussion, flute, harmonium, mellotron, vibes, synths
Bella Blasko – Vocals, piano, organ, mellotron, synths
Jim Bertini – Drums on Track 2
Jane Scarpantoni – Cello on track 9
releases September 21st, 2016
All songs by Johanna Warren
Recorded and mixed by Bella Blasko
Co-produced by Bella Blasko & Johanna Warren
The Fat Angel Sings 