Secretly Canadian
2005
Giving Up The Ghost
About This Album
After 2004's We Fight Til Death Windsor for the Derby principals Dan Matz and Jason McNeeley relocated to Philadelphia separately. The close proximity removed the "project" tag from Derby's name, since Matz and McNeeley could now spend indefinite amounts of time recording and playing shows with WFTD. They also added full-time personnel on drums and bass guitar, and nothing says "band" -- not "project" -- like a rhythm section. These tweaks to the formula likely account for the dramatic sonic shifts in 2005's Giving Up the Ghost. While Death had more vocals and a greater melodic sense than past records, Ghost is its own mysterious pop animal, an immediately unique and curious document that suggests slowcore, unplugged Yo La Tengo, introspective indie-folk, and the post-rock/experimental voyages WFTD's always taken. "Giving Up" begins with a gentle acoustic guitar and pained, wizened vocals; soft percussion brushes come in, and slowly a clamoring electric guitar and faraway harmony vocals appear out of the mist. It's definitely pop, but it's been deconstructed and refashioned. Unlimited studio time definitely has its charms. The crisp, nimble "Empathy for People Unknown" could be the Aluminum Group, while "Shadows" is claustrophobic and tense, driving toward a payoff for its wiling bass guitar and freaky, flanging keyboard effect.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,4 and 10)

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