About Haunted Like Human

“As stripped down as our sound is, there’s nothing to hide behind. So it makes sense for us to be honest."

“We put a ton of emphasis on storytelling in each of our songs. We tell our own stories, we tell other people’s stories, we tell stories that we’ve seen from touring,” says Cody Clark, multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter. Limned with nostalgia, soaked in Southern gothic lore, the duo meticulously assembles songs to preserve the spirit of the stories they tell. “When we write, we will beat a couple lines to death for two hours. In the end, it gets us to something we’re really proud of,” lead singer and lyricist Dale Chapman says.

With a background in poetry and prose, her granular focus on language is simpatico with Clark’s background in classical guitar. Though he began playing in metal and punk bands, Clark’s evolution meant studying composition at the Lionel Hampton School of Music at the University of Idaho. There, he focused on classical guitar. After purchasing a steel-string guitar and switching to an entirely fingerpicked style, Clark knew he’d found a place in acoustic music, stripped down so that each note carries its own weight.

It was this evolution that inspired Clark to drive from Oregon to Nashville in 2017. Hoping to find collaborators who were serious about music. Within a couple days, he met Chapman at a coffee shop. She deduced that he was a lost tourist and struck up a conversation, leading to a cowriting session. Next thing they knew, Clark had relocated to Nashville and they were making their first album, Ghost Stories.  On the heels of that, they offered up their Folklore EP, featuring standout single “Feels Like Fire.” While that EP sought to channel the minimalist, intimate spirit of their live shows, Tall Tales & Fables is the next step in their maturation. Polished but not shiny, the album benefits from Mitch Dane’s production. Together with skilled string players, the album developed its own life while staying true to Clark and Chapman’s partnership, one built on literal and metaphorical voices.