Holy Ghost is the third and final studio album by the American rock band Modern Baseball, released on May 13, 2016. The album follows their third EP, The Perfect Cast, which was released on October 23, 2015, via Lame-O Records, as well as their sophomore studio album, You're Gonna Miss It All, released in 2014, and their compilation album, Techniques, also released in 2014.
Background Holy Ghost is the first Modern Baseball album that was not recorded by the band themselves—instead, the members obtained the help of Joe Reinhart (Hop Along, Algernon Cadwallader). The album was recorded at Headroom Studios in Philadelphia. The album is split in half between both guitarist/frontmen, Jake Ewald and Bren Lukens (Ewald wrote the first six songs and Lukens wrote the last five). Ewald's songs mainly revolved around the passing of his grandfather while Lukens focuses on their struggles with mental illness and depression.
Release and promotion On February 24, 2016, the album was officially confirmed. On March 3, two songs were published online for free via NPR. The first, "Everyday", was written by Jake Ewald and the second, "Apple Cider, I Don't Mind", was written by Bren Lukens. On April 4, the band released a documentary directed by actor and director Kyle Thrash entitled "Tripping in the Dark". The documentary focused mainly on the formation of the band and the making of the album, including Ewald's struggle with his grandfather's death and Lukens' near suicide attempt and subsequent recovery. The video for "Wedding Singer" was released on May 5.
The album's Vinyl release is unique in that the sides are titled Side J and Side B named after Jake Ewald having written the songs on side A and Bren Lukens having written the songs on side B. Additionally the Vinyl release includes an undocumented hidden track on side B of the vinyl release. This track is not found on any other release.
Modern Baseball announced plans to tour on March 3, 2016, setting the first dates for shortly after the release of the new album. The tour kicked off on May 25, 2016, with Joyce Manor and Thin Lips opening. On August 3, Modern Baseball announced they would be supporting Brand New and The Front Bottoms on tour starting in October 2016. At the conclusion of the Brand New tour, Modern Baseball will be playing a string of shows internationally.
Critical reception
The album was met with acclaim by critics, with most of them noting that Modern Baseball showed growth and maturity with the content of Holy Ghost. Holy Ghost holds a score of 81/100 on Metacritic indicating universal acclaim. On June 4, 2016, Holy Ghost reached No. 53 on the US Billboard 200.
Accolades Publication Accolade Year Rank The A.V. Club The A.V. Club's Top 50 Albums of 2016 2016 Stereogum The 50 Best Albums of 2016 2016
Track listing
Personnel Modern Baseball
Jake Ewald – vocals, guitars, keyboards Bren Lukens – vocals, guitars Ian Farmer – bass guitar, vocals, keyboards Sean Huber – drums, percussion, vocals
Additional Musicians
Cameron Boucher – additional vocals (track 7)
Technical Joe Reinhart – producer; recording engineer Mark Quinlan – drum technician Ryan Schwabe – mastering engineer Kyle Pulley – editing Drew Taurisano – studio assistant Shane Woods – studio assistant Isabel Imperatore – layout Jessica Flynn – photography
Charts Chart (2016) Peak position UK Albums Chart 161 US Vinyl Albums (Billboard) 1
References