The acclaimed country-rock band offers a new cut from their forthcoming Justified album.
Who let Ghost Hounds out? Maple House Records, which has scheduled an August 21 release date for the country-rock band’s latest album, Justified.
But you won’t have to wait that long to sample a choice cut from the album: “Sinner’s Prayer,” a brooding roots-rock track with gorgeous fiddle and blistering guitars, drops today. It’s an epic tale of sin and redemption, featuring the signature soulful vocals of Ghost Hounds frontman SAVNT.
“While someone could see the title of this song and think the meaning is self-explanatory,” SAVNT said in a prepared statement, “I believe the reason why it resonates and hits so close to home for people is because we have all experienced in our own way a deep desire for understanding and redemption. To be seen beyond our faults and seek the reassurance that there is something on the other side of the hardship.
“Performing this song creates an opportunity for both me and the audience to experience a cathartic release of those burdens.”
SAVNT, who was profiled by Alison Bonaguri for C&I last year, cites Sam Cooke, Prince, and Lenny Kravitz as his chief influences. But he also grew up listening to Willie Nelson, Keith Urban, and Brooks & Dunn. He went from performing at house gigs to stadiums when Ghost Hounds asked him to join them in 2024.
“When you’re performing solo,” SAVNT told Bonaguri, “everybody kind of has to follow what you say. It’s like, ‘Stop over here.’ Or, ‘I want to crescendo here.’ But when you’re in the band, with the incredibly talented musicians in my band, we’re creating these songs where each note informs the next one.
“I feel like I’m with a team, and that’s the first time I think I’ve ever felt that way. They already had momentum and a voice, and I always want to be intentional about honoring that voice.”
The powerful way SAVNT interprets a song makes him the perfect voice to bring the songwriting of Ghost Hounds founder, producer, and guitarist Thomas Tull to vivid life. “The way Thomas writes, he knows what the guy in his song had for breakfast that morning,” SAVNT says. “He’s really building a character.”
“Performing this song creates an opportunity for both me and the audience to experience a cathartic release of those burdens.” — SAVNT
Other members of the Ghost Hounds lineup include Nashville fiddle star Kristin Weber, keyboardist Joe Munroe, bassist Bennett Miller, drummer Sydney Driver, and guitarist Tyler Chiarelli.
“We are so proud of Justified,” Chiarelli says of the band’s upcoming album. “We were able to draw from so many of our influences and put forth a record that we feel really sounds like a culmination of all the parts becoming the whole.
“At the center of that is SAVNT. His vocals were able to traverse so much ground, and it was so amazing to witness him find new dimensions of his voice in the process. From blues to country to rock, he brought all of the songs to life.”
For SAVNT, Justified “is a pure reflection of everything we love about music and everything you can expect from Ghost Hounds as a band. You have the blues, rock, soul, and storytelling that ushers in a reckoning of sorts and takes you on a journey. Each song moves you through a complex set of emotions that builds and swells like the instruments and production with me as your vocal narrator.
“‘Sinner’s Prayer’ amplifies our desire to be seen beyond our faults and the longing for reassurance that there is something on the other side of the hardship we experience in this life. ‘War Inside’ shows you that despite the odds being stacked against you and people cheering for your demise, you can rise above it all and free yourself from that negativity. But even then you may still feel as though you are losing the fight. ‘Chasing Yesterday” is a fervent reminder that while we always hold our memories dear, you can’t press rewind on life, so be present in every moment.
“All these songs came together at the perfect time, and this is the story they wanted to tell to remind us of our humanity and mortality. So the lesson is to fix what you can, challenge what you must and live every day to the fullest with your morals in the driver's seat.”
Cowboys & Indians is proud to premiere “Sinner’s Prayer”
