Ghost Approaches by Earl Vallie

Perpetual Doom proudly presents the new album from Earl Vallie: Ghost Approaches. Brandishing a new moniker and a reenergized spirit, Vallie teams up with producer and drummer Greg Saunier of Deerhoof to deliver a collection of boldly weird and defiantly life-affirming songs.

Earl Vallie cordially invites you on a journey into the depths of the working-class artist, the neon-sludge pit where workaday drudgery mixes with outsized desires and jumbotron dreams. Ghost Approaches is a cry of resilience, what opener “Ready to Die” calls a “blood-curdled promise to set things right.” That song kicks off the record with a Springsteen-esque howl, with charging guitars and an echoing wail.

It’s an appropriate sentiment for a record that begun with Vallie’s move from Joshua Tree to LA and the pandemic-borne worry that music might be behind him. But just like the burst of synths that lifts the dancefloor love affair of “Hollow Skies,” Ghost Approaches ascends with a new, bolder sound. Together with Saunier, whose drumming gives the album a gritty pulse, Vallie adds new heft to his desert-lean tunes until even the album’s darkest moments (“Reap the Seeds of Love”) exhibit a bioluminescent glow. But behind it all is Vallie’s unmistakable voice.

Ghost Approaches features a remarkable range of musical contributions, from the chilling sax at the end of “My Babys Broomstick” to background vocals of Val Glenn on “Hollow Skies” and Heidi Alexander on the doo-wop inflected “Prom.” “My only goal,” Earl says, “is to uplift people with sounds and melodies that are undeniably relatable and healing for all.” It may be a ghost approaching—but it’s a good one.

Earl Vallie - Prom (Official Video): https://youtu.be/J6x5KX7Nkrg

Earl Vallie - Autumn Leaves (Official Video): https://youtu.be/NVE-u4d65h4

Earl Vallie - Hollow Skies (Official Video): https://youtu.be/oh22P0-gq-E

Tracklist

1.	Ready To Die	3:46

2.	A Beautiful Creature	4:14

3.	Autumn Leaves	4:04

4.	Prom	4:27

5.	Hollow Skies	4:06

6.	Reap The Seeds of Love	4:14

7.	Tarantulan Son	3:10

8.	My Baby's Broomstick	4:56

9.	Sunday Soldier	6:02

Credits

released June 3, 2022

All songs written + sung by Earl Vallie
Produced, mixed + mastered by Greg Saunier
Drums - Greg Saunier
Bass - Joel T. Crocco
Vocals recorded @ Javelina Sound by Paul ”Paco” Cossette
Preproduction on Hollow Skies + Sunday Soldiers by Robert Harder
Cover sculpture - Tynan Kerr, entitled “Colossal Head”
Album layout + design - Joshua Erb

License