Transatlantic pair Sons of Town Hall has enthusiastically revealed the much-anticipated debut of their second record, Of Ghosts and Gods, scheduled for release on 6 March.

Words by Marios Stamos

Close to ten years ago, in a London tavern, celebrated singer-songwriters Ben Parker (Ben & Jason) and David Berkeley conceived this remarkably captivating venture, which has produced an outpouring of creativity, playful wit and a mesmerising vocal chemistry. Their latest record displays Parker and Berkeley at their artistic and musical peak. It’s partially a folk album, partially a narrative-driven odyssey that summons Tom Waits-esque wordplay and Everly Brothers-influenced harmonies.

Of Ghosts and Gods takes us through a narrative-focused dreamscape and a sonically breathtaking experience. Evocative string arrangements by Will Robertson, to brass performed by Jordan Katz (De La Soul, Father John Misty, Macy Gray) and the wonderfully inventive sonic layers of percussionist and drummer Mathias Kunzli (Regina Spektor).

Sons of Town Hall have constructed a multilayered fictional realm to contextualise the album. Within it exist two figures, Josiah Chester Jones (Berkeley) and George Ulysses Brown (Parker), who journey across the globe together on a self-constructed legendary raft. Attired in Victorian-period clothing and equipped with gorgeously weathered Gibson guitars, their live shows are far from typical concerts, but rather dramatic, engrossing spectacles that merge music, comedy and abundant storytelling, somewhat like if Monty Python could sing like Simon & Garfunkel. “The costumes, in the end, somehow enable us to be more ourselves,” Parker explains. Berkeley adds, “We are characters in a fiction we’ve dreamed up and re-create with our audiences every night. Given the woes of today’s world, it feels more important than ever to collectively imagine something better.”

Broadening the album’s world, the duo has introduced the Madmen Cross the Water podcast. Presented by fictional superfan and self-designated band chronicler, Elias B. Worthington (portrayed by British actor Oliver Maltman), each instalment in the inaugural season recounts the escapades behind the tracks on the new album. Calling back to classic radio drama, Madmen is a worldwide travel narrative featuring audio effects, a rich original soundtrack, and writing that is simultaneously humorous and sincere.

Of Ghosts and Gods Tracklisting:

1. Gods

2. How to Build at Boat

3. Wild Winds

4. The Lion’s Paw

5. Whalebone

6. The Rocky Shores of England

7. Sirens 

8. Antarctica  

9. New Orleans

10. Mutiny

11. In My Arms Once More

12. Ghosts (Instrumental)

Sons of Town Hall is currently on a release tour in the United States and will return to England for a run of dates in June. 

FULL LIST OF USA DATES:

18 Feb – Eddie’s Attic – Decatur, GA

20 Feb – The Green Room @ Crosstown Arts – Memphis, TN

22 Feb – The Mansion At Strathmore – North Bethesda, MD

24 Feb – City Windery’s City Vineyard – New York, NY

25 Feb – The Kate – Old Saybrook, CT

26 Feb – Colonia Theatre’s BNH Stage – Concord, NH

27 Feb – Spruce Peak Performing Arts Centre – Stowe, VT

28 Feb – Studio9 at The Porches – North Adams, MA

1 Mar – Peabody Essex Museum – Salem, MA

3 Mar – Club Passim – Cambridge, MA

4 Mar – The Music Hall Lounge – Portsmith, NH

7 Mar – Purple Fiddle – Thomas, WV

8 Mar – Mountain Stage – Charleston, WV

FULL LIST OF UK DATES:

11 Jun – Caroline Street Social Club – Shipley

14 June – Kirkby Stephen Sports & Social Club – Kirkby Stephen

16 Jun – Arts Hub – Ripon

17 Jun – Greystones – Sheffield

18 Jun – Islington Assembly Hall, London w/ Police Dog Hogan

20 Jun – The Tolmen Centre, Constantine