Wisconsin-based folk collective Haunter have returned with an absolutely gorgeous LP in Don’t Worry, a stunning collection of ghostly acoustical ballads and creeping, elaborate rockers. We were treated to great Haunter tracks like “Take Me Back (To Those Times)” on last year’s self-titled release, and they appear to have taken a step forward with more polished production and, aptly enough, a more haunting sound — one that’s tougher to shake from your head. There’s less of a lo-fi feel than before throughout Don’t Worry, which despite containing many understated brushes of beauty is a highly coherent dark folk release in the vein of Grizzly Bear and Marissa Nadler. “Shadow Song” is absolutely brilliant, a creaking folk beauty with Elliott Smith-like somber acoustics and echoing vocals that sit somewhere between Billy Corgan’s somber nasal (like on “Disarm”) and the audible loneliness of Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste. Unrequited love song “For You” is another gift, containing a devastating chorus – “I would kill for him…” – that serves as one of many emotionally riveting moments on Don’t Worry, the latest step forward from this extremely gifted group out of Stevens Point, Wisconsin.
Stream and download Don’t Worry at a name-your-price rate via Bandcamp.
