Tyler McGinnis In Search of What Time Keeps in Admiring Ghosts

Do you think you acknowledge who you were, how far you’ve come, and what you still hold dear? A rhetoric question, yeah – but I’m afraid there’s only one chance to put it on in this life. In another life we might be busy with different kinds of stories, different people, different wreckage. Here, though, while the heart still throws up strange old receipts, a story to hum on its edge comes from Tyler McGinnis and his latest release, Admiring Ghosts.

To be honest, this one hit me in my sideways. Tyler McGinnis takes the tighter path – thank God he does. That path usually tells the truth better anyway. Especially because is about one single image: a drawer filled with everything life misplaced along the way. Old dreams. Old friends. Time you never spent with people you loved. True, everybody has their own version of that drawer, whether they admit it or not – but what more do you want when it opens and you recognise everything?

Tyler McGinnis and the weight of memory

Tyler McGinnis watches from the country and Americana corner, and he gets something important: if the writing’s got muscle, you don’t need to shout. The man comes out of the Pacific Northwest, rooted in that sound, and Admiring Ghosts shows a writer who trusts the listener to meet him halfway. Now let’s talk about the emotional engine behind the song.

It started after a long phone call with a childhood friend he had not spoken to in years. I’ve done that myself lately, with that heavyweight feeling I can recognise right here, right now in the lyric. We’ve got this line – like a brick through the window: “When did we start admiring ghosts?” Come on now. That hurts. How did we get so good at managing memory, while the present is right there in the corner, waiting for eye contact?

Admiring Ghosts – That Call, That Crew

I said lyrics? That’s the most clever thing throughout the track. Pocket change, pens, faces, vanished tracks of time – and through those objects Tyler opens the heavier emotional cupboards. That makes the song feel human-sized, close enough to touch.

The chorus gives the song its worn brass centrepiece: We don’t know what we miss and what we don’t. We try so hard to do the least but make the most. Why do we always fall apart when things get close? That’s it, there’s no rush to explain everything. Tyler handles vocals and guitar himself, while Jesse Gallaway takes care of bass and drums. Tim Graham at Bear Creek Studio takes on mixing and production, and Rachel Field at Resonant Mastering finalises the gift-wrap.

About Tyler McGinnis

Born in Los Angeles, Tyler C.S. McGinnis found his path into music after a football scholarship took him to Nebraska. There, songwriting slowly took over. A move to western Washington in 2017 placed him inside a strong music scene that helped shape his voice across Americana, alternative country, and Southern rock.

Since going full-time in 2022, he’s been performing across the Pacific Northwest, both solo and with his band The Hipocrats, alongside Sarah Brunner. There is also something deeply likeable about the timing of this release. Tyler introduced his solo chapter with Geronimo, a song centered on risk and the leap into the unknown. The artist is releasing singles monthly through 2026, with a full-length album due later this summer.

We keep souvenirs nobody else can imagine. We lose names, habits, we lose friends, and chances. Then one day a song comes along and opens that drawer for us. Tyler McGinnis does that here with grace. So yes, I rate this one. Strongly. I’ll put it on when somebody from years ago crosses my mind for no clear reason.

Find Tyler McGinnis here – press play, open your drawer, and see what’s inside.

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