Musée Mécanique are hailing from Portland, Oregon where they have been perfecting their subtle folk-pop genre. It was while living in San Francisco that the two songwriters, Sean Ogilvie and Micah Rabwin, developed an affinity for a collection of vintage coin-operated games, player pianos and novelties housed at the Musée Mécanique (Mechanical Museum) located on San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf. Hold This Ghost is a hybrid of all those vintage sounds and the duets humanity. For you EF had a listen.
Musée Mécanique are off to a good start with their mellow single Like Home. Micah Rabwin is mesmerizing and makes the song sound like the sweetest lullaby. Like Home does have a familiar sound to it, almost nostalgic.
Two Friends Like Us is another relaxing affair with its folky guitar riff think José Gonzalez but only till you reach the second verse where the song gets more texture with added keyboard and a smooth bass line.
By the time we listen to The Propellors we are mesmerized and want the experience to last for as long as possible. The songs is a mixture or soldier like drums, accordions, a musical saw and almost organ like keyboards.
Fits And Starts is a little different and wakes us from that sort of trance we’d been. Some melancholic accordion leads the way to more gentle guitar strums and Rabwin’s heartfelt vocals. Fits And Starts is for the romantics amongst us and timing couldn’t be more perfect with Valentine’s day knocking.
Highlights on the album include Sleeping In Our Clothes, which we like for its up beat tempo. It also sounds a little heroic with its trumpets. We also love Our Changing Skins with its Badly Drawn Boy like sound.
Musée Mécanique are a different league of musicians. With their range of less conventional musical instruments and a very clear picture of what their style is these guys are a magnet to anyone who is a fan of this elegant folk genre. Our only problem is that anyone who isn’t a fanatic of this type of music may find Hold This Ghost a little too morose and even dull at times. We don’t share that opinion and think that Hold This Ghost is a mesmerizing affair.
