“We Moved Like Ghosts”
Track a Tiger
Deep Elm Records
4 stars

“We Moved Like Ghosts” isn’t the most indicative title Track a Tiger could’ve given its second album. How about “We Move Like Hopeful Spirits Ensconced in Fractured Feeling That’s More Beautiful than it Deserves to Be?”

Track a Tiger masterfully achieves subdued but impacting compositions sweetened with many instrumental accruals that don’t lose site of the fundamentals of a good song. Even better, the set alternates between contemplation and buoyancy with nary a hint of awkwardness.

So the jaunty, road-ready “Don’t Make a Weapon,” with its bewitchingly blemished melodies, segues naturally into the floor-sweeping acoustic guitars on “Light” that are coupled with a wall of twinkling electronic sound.

Sometimes the two forces combine for an even more satisfactory commiseration. The fragments of shimmering sonancy on “All These Accidents” bond into a brilliant gem of a song. “With Stars Down” starts with a timeworn, meditative quality that quickly lets loose with more blustering intentions.

The fact Track a Tiger is able to wring such mirthful noise from lo-fi conceptions is a noteworthy achievement. Bless the few, the proud, who offer hope in unlikely packages.