Freak Out To This Visceral Song Ahead Of Touched By Ghoul's Album Release Show

By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 12, 2016 8:52PM

Touched By Ghoul, photo by Devin Davis

Chicago indie rock band Touched By Ghoul's debut comes out Friday, and it's a thrilling, if at times terrifying, listen. We've been following frontwoman Angela Mullenhour's artistic evolution for over a decade now, beginning with her stint singing for the now-defunct indie rock powerhouse that was Sybris.

Mullenhour has always been a magnetic presence. Onstage she often appears to be channeling sound and fury from some alternate dimension, and gives herself wholly over to the tumultuous sounds she and her band produce. Her latest project, Touched By Ghoul, is no different, and the crew she's collaborating with helps her reach more harrowing depths. Andrea Bauer's guitar lines tangle and wrestle with Mullenhour's own, while Alex Shumard's bass helps anchor the melee of sound. The band's secret weapon might just be Paige Sandlin's drumming though; rarely have we seen such an unassuming fellow turn into such a formidable beast behind the kit. Sandlin often provides backing vocals, too, but sans microphone, screaming to make his voice heard over Touched By Ghoul's squall.

The band is releasing their first full-length album, Murder Circus, this Friday. Ahead of the album hitting the shelves, the band has shared an exclusive premiere of their track "Nice Corpse" with us.

"This song was written for an old friend," Mullenhour told Chicagoist. "In high school we took acid and walked around a graveyard and all the lights from the nearby car dealership were bouncing off the clouds just so that time stopped. I guess it's a coming of age story."

Give the track a listen below, and if you enjoy it you can catch the band's free record release show at The Empty Bottle on Monday.

Touched By Ghoul plays their album release show on April 18 at The Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western Ave., 9 p.m., FREE, 21+