The Christmas Lights - "Hair" Video & Ghost Twins EP

The seasonally relevant Maryland project, The Christmas Lights, just released a new double EP dubbed Ghost Twins. This electro pop act is the works of Kenny Tompkins, and is based out west in Frostburg.

Above is the video for "Hair", the first track on Ghost Twins. The video tells the tale of an over-sized Barbie and possibly her super creepy boyfriend. The doll gets bored watching TV, cleans up and lights candles, and is fed bananas by a washed up WWF wrestler. In the end she loses her face, but not before getting her dose of potassium.

Read on for more on The Christmas Lights, and another animated video.


I caught them back in March at the Ottobar, opening for Cotton Jones. He was then backed by three other musicians, and was undeniably engaging.

This new double EP features two versions of three of the tracks. The "Hair Version[s]" are the electronic and amplified cuts, while the "Tooth Version[s]" are derived using more organic beats. This throws two different perspectives on some extremely catchy pop songs. While the older cuts from his 2008 album Walk Like a Human have more prevalent dark tones in its bubble gum melodies, you've got to dig deeper to find the darkness in most of the tracks off of Ghost Twins.

Grab the new EP here, and below is the video for the earlier standout "Show Your Teeth".

Photos: Cotton Jones, The Christmas Lights, The Owls Go

Photos by Chrissy

Disclaimer: I ruptured my ear drum Friday night, and still do not have proper hearing ability. This was my first show back in action. My thoughts are right ear biased.

A decent turnout arrived for Monday night's lineup at the Ottobar which boasted Cotton Jones, The Christmas Lights, and The Owls Go. I missed most of the openers, but showed up in time to catch the lead singer of Owls Go singing through a phone headset. Certainly caught my attention, and seemed worth arriving in a more timely fashion.

The Christmas Lights were more than likely the first band I've ever seen coming out of the Frostburg music scene. Not entirely sure there is enough action to constitute a scene in Frostburg, but dudes did a nice job representing either way. High energy key synths paired with some solid beats made a quality pairing to the lead singer's restrained yet often eratic bursts of energy.

Also hailing from the far western hills of Maryland, Cotton Jones provided the evening's nightcap. Bringing their wide array of psychadelic country to display for us city folk, their live sound was indeed pleasant. Maybe not full of as much southern comfort as Paranoid Cocoon, but entertaining and enjoyable nonetheless. Paul McCartney covers and all, a quality performance all around.

Tonight: Cotton Jones

A more than pleasing soundtrack to your Monday evening, Cotton Jones plays Baltimore tonight. The group returns to their native state of Maryland, bringing their ever evolving sounds of folk, pop, alt-country, and woodsy psychedelia.

Originally Michael Nau's side project to Page France, Cotton Jones recently dropped their debut under this moniker via Suicide Squeeze. Paranoid Cocoon is a pretty solid affair, and floats along like a stroll through the forest to grandmother's house.

The band swoons the Ottobar tonight, with support deriving from the Owls Go and the Christmas Lights.