The log-awaited third album from Nashville Duo, Haunted Like Human, is here at last. Well-constructed songs with lyrics that will provoke analysis and consideration, melodic accompaniments and some of the most engaging vocals that you’ll hear this year. American Mythology has it all.
Release Date: 21st November 2025
Label: Self Release
Format: CD / Vinyl / Digital
A RUN OF TASTERS…
First, along came lead single, Married In Savannah – a slice of good-time, grudge-bearing country rock. Next out of the blocks was Family Name, a winsome folk song that holds the weight of what it means to carry a venerable family name. Then, in mid-September, came Appaloosa, an easy-as-pie love song, written from the viewpoint of someone who can’t believe that they’ve landed such an amazing partner. In between times, there was also Lazarus, but – for some reason – At The Barrier missed that one…
Yes, we’ve certainly had a good share of tasters for American Mythology, the long-awaited third album from Nashville Duo Haunted Like Human. And, now, at long last, here it is.
AN OUTSTANDING PAIRING
For readers new to the duo’s name, Haunted Like Human is the result of a chance meeting between Dale Chapman (lead vocals and lyrics) and Cody Clark (guitar, backing vocals and music), in a Nashville coffee shop, back in 2017. An initial conversation led, quickly, to a musical partnership and the duo’s debut album, Ghost Stories, saw light of day in September of that year. Singles, an acclaimed EP (Folklore) and a run of intimate live shows followed, culminating in 2021 in the duo’s sophomore album, Tall Tales & Fables, the album that first drew our attention to this outstanding pairing.
It’s a nice, tasteful bout of acapella harmony singing that eases us into American Mythology and opening track, Eurydice, demonstrates just how snugly the voices of Dale and Cody dovetail together. Those harmonies are a consistent feature of American Mythology, and they’re there again in Milliner’s Daughter, a folky number that’s structured around acoustic guitar and a wistful-sounding violin.
CRYSTAL-CLEAR VOCALS
Dale’s crystal-clear vocals soar above the guitar/banjo/violin backing for Appaloosa, the most recent of the album’s four singles. Cody’s harmonies add warmth as Dale’s lyrics eulogise the godlike qualities of his partner , with lines like: “…she’s messy in her musings, but all she touches turns to gold.” And I still love the song’s: “I need her like a prairie needs the rain” punchline!
I’m reminded strongly of Simon and Garfunkel by the winsome Family Name. Dale’s lyrics – “There on the porch that your grandfather built, singing songs that his grandmother sang; there’s a creak in the stairs and it sounds like the family name…” question the benefits of birthright and the pressures that it brings. Dale delivers a pristine vocal and the backing, supplemented by Byron House on bass, Paul Eckberg on percussion, Charlie Lovell on keyboards and Cara Fox on cello, is rich and fulfilling.
Photo: Laura Schneider
A FINE VOCAL PERFORMANCE
Dale’s voice takes on a conspirational tone for the broody, bluesy, Hangman’s Song – quite a departure from the more folky/country fare typified by the irresistible Meet Me in Memphis, the type of song that Haunted Like Human do so well. Everything works for this one – the strummed guitar, the picked banjo, the sonorous bass, all topped off by one of Dale’s finest vocal performances.
Dale’s lyrics often reward careful consideration, and that’s the case with the engaging High Wire. Dale sounds lonely and vulnerable as he sings lines like: “I’m up on the high wire, stealing the show. I make it look easy from way down below,” and the discrete instrumental backing helps to emphasise that sense of isolation. And the lyrics to the gypsy-flavoured Growing Pains are equally thought-provoking, as Dale asks a string of questions that challenge conventional wisdom, all to a backing awash with stirring drumrolls and plaintive violin.
A WILD THING – TAMED
Banjo and guitar take turns in the driving seat for the uplifting Bargain With the Moon. Dale’s vocals are way upfront, whilst Cody’s harmonies add the depth, before things take a sinister turn for Lazarus, the third of the four preview singles. Described as an ‘inverted prayer,’ Dale’s lyrics take the form of a plea to a resurrected man to describe his death and return to life. The unsettling tone of the verses – a tone that’s heightened by swooping fiddle strokes – contrast with the bright, fiery chorus, before the song concludes by Dale asking: “Now you’ve glimpsed the things that belong to the buried, are you longing to return to the clay?”
The excellent Kingston Pike – one of the album’s genuine highlights – has the feel of a traditional folk song, and it’s another song that seems to take a cue from Simon and Garfunkel. The instrumentation – fingerpicked guitar, flashes of violin and soft, effective percussion – is spot-on and Dale delivers another spine-tingling vocal. It’s an excellent track and, if anything, things get even better with Married in Savannah, the album’s lead single and my pick of the whole bunch. Dale’s bittersweet lyrics rebuke a former friend with whom wild times were once shared, but who has been lured to the alter by promises of financial and emotional security. And I love the blend of sympathy and venom in the song’s payoff line: “…what a shame to see a wild thing be tamed.”
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
And bitterness and resentment are also the emotions expressed in the lyrics to Plastic Jesus, a song that Dale delivers with true passion, before moving on to the dramatic Cassandra to conclude the album. Softly fingerpicked guitar provides the backing as Dale recites the visions experienced by prophetess Cassandra and observes the reactions of the citizens as Cassandra’s predictions are expressed, then come to be.
American Mythology is an album that’s loaded with well-structured songs, with lyrics that provide oodles of food for thought. The arrangements are pleasant and melodic and the instrumentation is tasteful and never overdone. Best of all, the songs feature some of the finest vocalizing that you’ll hear this year. Well worth an extended listen.
Listen to Appaloosa – the most recent of the album’s four singles – below:
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