Ghosts EP

There’s a certain kind of record that doesn’t announce itself so much as haunt the room. Ghosts doesn’t just demand your attention—it lingers beside you like smoke, soft-spoken and unresolved.

Russel Taine Jr.’s Ghosts EP is a slow-motion exhale of an album. Clocking in just under 20 minutes, it’s as much a confessional as it is a portrait of disconnection: from lovers, from former selves, from the idea that we ever really understand the people we love. There’s a spiritual thread woven throughout, but it’s the quiet kind of faith that lives in the spaces between words.

If this EP feels out of time, that’s because it kind of is. It would’ve slotted in comfortably among the post-Sufjan, post-Elliott, lo-fi boom of the early 2010s Bandcamp golden age, but it’s also got the raw, reclusive energy of a late-’90s Drag City release. There are big choruses here, but no climactic bridges or faddish folk-pop polish. Just weary guitars, spectral textures, and the kind of lyrics that feel more whispered to a ghost than sung to a crowd.

Ghosts is the third official release from Russel Taine Jr., the songwriting project of Aaron Winston, an Austin-based musician whose work draws from the haunted intimacy of lo-fi folk and the emotional precision of early 2000s indie rock. Though deeply personal, Ghosts is also a collaborative effort: Dylan Hill (of Mamalarkey) contributes atmospheric lead guitar and understated piano, Justin Winslow anchors the low end with melodic bass and airy synth textures, and Wes Armstrong (of Half Dream) provides subtle, expressive drums that give the songs their pulse without ever overpowering them. Together, they create a sound that feels like it was made in a room full of good friends—delicate, raw, and deeply human.

This isn’t an album that’s trying to prove itself. Its strength lies in its stillness, its refusal to chase trends or emotional clarity. Some may find its minimalism stark, its pacing uniform—but that’s missing the point. This is music made for late hours and long walks. It doesn’t chase catharsis; it lives in the echo.

Russel Taine Jr.’s vocal delivery is one of the most distinct and emotionally resonant elements of Ghosts. Winston sings with a kind of intentional understatement—not out of shyness, but as if each line is being carefully exhaled rather than projected. There’s a fragile sincerity in his voice that recalls early Elliott Smith or Andy Shauf: intimate, conversational, and unvarnished.

But what makes this album really work is the tension between vulnerability and control. Winston doesn’t push for big notes or dramatics, but you can hear the weight behind the words—especially in repeated refrains like “I went miles and miles just to find you” which gather power through their restraint. His phrasing is subtle, often lingering just behind the beat, giving the sense that he’s wrestling with the lines as he sings them.

Ghosts marks the Russel Taine Jr.’s continued growth as a project that has steadily built a quiet but compelling presence in the greater Austin music scene. Known for intimate live sets that blur the line between performance and confession, the band frequently tours small venues across Central Texas, cultivating a following drawn to their unfiltered lyricism and atmospheric sound. With Ghosts, Russel Taine Jr. takes a confident step forward—both more expansive and more refined than previous efforts—while remaining rooted in the emotional clarity that defines their work. The EP will be officially released in November 2025.