Lonesome Wyatt and the Holy Spooks’ “Halloween Is Here” is a terrifying tribute to all those strange and obscure Halloween albums from the 1950s to the 1980s. It contains twelve spooky stories and monstrous sing-a-longs for your unholy holiday party at the local insane asylum. It was first released in October of 2013, and is now being re-released on candy corn-colored vinyl. You can pre-order starting September 1st.
Lonesome Wyatt and the Holy Spooks is a project by Lonesome Wyatt of “Those Poor Bastards,” which has a rather dark sort of folk sound. Lonesome Wyatt lived a mostly reclusive existence in the Wisconsin countryside during his formative years, which developed into an intense imagination and a constant feeling he was an outsider. Compelled by unknown forces to create music, he began recording songs in his parent’s basement and credited them as Lonesome Wyatt and the Holy Spooks.
With references ranging from Nick Drake to Rozz Williams, these primitive songs remained unheard. Somewhere along the way, Wyatt met a similar-minded misanthrope who called himself The Minister. Fueled by their shared hopeless view of humanity, the duo became legally certified holiness preachers and began to create music together as Those Poor Bastards. They melded many influences, including a love of pre 1960’s country music, classic horror films, and a rudimentary grasp of instrumentation.
Their first album, Country Bullshit, may too have been relegated to obscurity if it wasn’t for a small but significant act. On a whim, Wyatt gave a copy of the EP to Hank Williams III after a show, and so taken was Hank by their efforts that he began to play their song “Pills I Took” live, and released a version of it on his record “Straight to Hell.” That support burgeoned a devoted following and 5 full-length albums and a handful of EPs later they continue to spread the doom.
