Chattanooga, Tennessee-based band Dead Testaments play an engrossing vein of “noir rock” and darker-themed folk, drawing from inspirations ranging from Southern literature, the “soul of delta blues”, and acts like Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave. All these fragments are evident in their sound, which on “Ghosts of the Civil War Trees” – a track off their new EP Mississippi Ave. – begins with a twinkle-laden acoustical lull, gradually expanding to spurts of strings and anthemic, uplifting vocals. It’s an excellent piece of songwriting, one of many examples throughout the EP, also containing highlights like “Under the Sun” and “Washed Up”.
