Miles Zuniga: These Ghosts Have Bones

Miles Zuniga’s got the perfect skill set for making pop music: attention to melody, a multi-dimensional singing voice, a knack for writing catchy songs and, most importantly, a fucked-up viewpoint on love. He’s got musical intelligence too, evident on These Ghosts Have Bones, where his well-defined guitar and piano playing makes each song stand out. His mostly electric arrangements sometimes reflect the vocal melody and sometimes provide counterpoint. Considering the instrumental diversity, the deluxe background vocals and multi-tracked everything, there is a lot going on, but it’s all done in good taste. The crown jewel on the album is really the lyrics. From the Armageddon-report of “The Weatherman” to the irony of “Working on a Love Song”, (in which the protagonist is finishing an ode to his sweetheart on his way home from overseas, but when he comes home, she’s already gone) it’s a cleverly penned record. Even when Zuniga’s rhymes seem intuitive like on, “You Can’t Break My Heart”, they still ring true. Zuniga is best known as the guitarist for platinum-selling, modern rockers Fastball. These Ghosts Have Bones is his first solo release. All told, it’s a really solid album that might leave you wondering, why hasn’t he done this before?