The sticker on the cover of Answers, the new album from Lawrence, KS quintet Ghosty, lists the Shins, Big Star and the Wrens as the RIYL bands. And we suppose that’s true, if you culled the softest, quietest moments from those bands and nothing else. In truth, they’re closer to bands like the Red House Painters and Eggstone, combining uncanny pop smarts with a certain Steely Dan casualness. Leadoff track “Dumbo Wins Again” nets the Shins comparison all by itself, and “A Man with Answers” has a hypnotic instrumental finale (think Semisonic’s “She’s Got My Number”). It’s extremely well made, but it’s also easy to get lost in the haze from time to time. A couple shifts in tempo would have worked wonders. (Oxblood Records)
