Prefect - The Ghost CS

After their self titled LP and the follow up, “Bird Nerds,” in the early 2010s, the band formerly known as Bitch Prefect went quiet for a few years but returns with “The Ghost.” In the meantime, the genre designation of “dolewave” seems to have gone from a tongue in cheek joke to a dirty word. While this album still possesses the hallmarks of their earlier work (think wry observational lyrics, trebly guitars), it also sees further elements enter into to the mix. Where the past albums featured lackadaisical country-esque songwriting, this one appears more jittery and spindly, somewhere between the nervous energy of ECSR and the mid-career albums by The Feelies, with other moments of darker, dirgier post-punk. -Mitch