Review: Lavender Town EP by Coyote Ghost Speech
You know that feeling you get when you realize how much you miss something? Or perhaps how much you’re not ready to miss something just yet? Are we high right now? No, but a somber comfort & resistance to change occupies a small, significant part of the self. It’s like a squatter who you end up being cool with since a) you don’t hate the homeless and b) they water the plants with their tears (dude, you can just use our pitcher, but live your art I guess). Anyway, if you like sad songs and/or weed, this here Lavender Town EP is a trip through that somber space for Coyote Ghost Speech - but in a way that’s better than that really bad metaphor I just used. I’m sorry, I’m new here. (editor’s note: never apologize, Ty <3)
We open with Eraser, easing in dissonant warm guitar tones and carrying a disembodied emo vocal flow through a mellow midi chorus. Hook melodies return throughout with enough stoney alterations for fading around the house.
Blue Geo is “the howler” of the bunch, with coyote’s speech projecting electrical croons. BG begins with a soft looming strum behind a calm echoing farewell including “how can I forget you, I swore I never meant to, I wish I didn’t have to.” Oof. Coyote’s back and forth between soft spoken and aforementioned emotional belting consistently drives this song. Tight 808-tempo percussion pops around. Surreal lyrics feel like a difficult conversation mixed with some pretty standard pal-talk. Echoing endings? Yes please.
Chi Chi is a warhead - small, bittersweet, bright, and designed make you a bit teary-eyed. Or maybe it’s a sour patch kid because...well, you know. These metaphors are reserved for the sound alone - there’s nothing sweet about losing someone to addiction. Splashing keys back catchy sad-rhythms to make it a melancholy BOP.
Finally, Few Shots (Marowak) - an airtight seal on the record. The best things about Coyote’s sound are pretty consistent here. Do you like to just (d)ucking chill with a tight beat, soft strumming, and a stuck-in-your-head chorus? Drink it up. There’s a couple different tricks to the vocals in there to listen for. This sounds like how “thank you, and good night” feels.
Alright, that’s the end of me talking about the music, really.
I believe wholeheartedly that Coyote had a really fun time making Lavender Town. Whether you drop in for a dozen minutes before going back to your serotonin-inducing queue or add this record to your letmefeelsadTM playlist, this emo lofi can be a mood aid for stoney or lonely times. I first enjoyed this music while drinking a shower beer called Dreamland and I felt like I was melting into a ghost. I found myself going back and listening to it on loop while preparing $12 vegan burgers at work during a global pandemic. It helped.
Maybe stoner lofi-emo isn’t your thing, and honestly we’re all pretty chill about that. Hell, even Mr. Speech would be, he’s had multiple types of projects. I still wouldn’t pass up the chance to have a distraction from doomscrolling. We need to try different things, aMeRiCa. Knowing the dude IRL, he’s going through some clarifying times while dropping this record, and actually being sober for a bit to work on himself. Kudos. If I can (I can), I’m going to reach out to Coyote and make sure he’s okay because...fuck, man. This hit hard.
