psychedelic / jazz / rock

Talking about the discovery of the year! OZO is another side project where Mike Vest (Mienakunaru, Bong) is involved with. And yes we got hooked by the music collaborations of this hard working musician from Newcastle. OZO is not only a trio but seems to be a hamlet in the Belgian province of Luxembourg too. This time Mike Vest  worked with Karl Conrad D'Silva who plays alto sax and Graham Thompson on drums.

Pluto is an album drenched in acid jazz vibes. The brutal alto sax improvisations of Karl Conrad D'Silva are accompanied with psychedelic bass tones and stoner rock orientated guitar parts. The tracks have floating and mesmerizing parts which crash violently in a storm of saxophonised abuse. D'Silva shows no mercy, his playing goes deep with heavy experimental outbursts and varied lung pulses. He has already performed with several highly acclaimed experimental artists like Stephen Mallinder of Cabaret Voltaire, Legendary US grindcore originators SIEGE, Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth and The Death Of Rave’s Rian Treanor.

OZO sweats, growls and kicks ass on Pluto like their life’s depended on it. Mike Vest manages to put some interesting electric sax melodies between the insane cacophonic waves of D'Silva. Well, we are sure this won’t be everybody’s cup of tea but for those who love experimental sax improvisations mixed with psychedelic and powerful rock, infused stoner rock influences, OZO is a band worth to check out. Our favourite track is Fine Tuner Abuser which unfortunately, slashes only fifteen minutes. Talking about an awesome recording.


Patsker

indie rock

Kapitän Platte is one of Germany’s finest labels when it comes to everything between Indie-Rock and Punk, and their most famous band is certainly Muff Potter. A few weeks ago they released the second real EP by a new German band called Palila. This EP combines six new tracks and the tracks of their first EP (2019’s “Are We Happy Now?”). The trio from Hamburg surely has learned from their idols how to phrase and emphasize certain parts of the vocals or song structures.

The band cites Neil Young and Built to Spill as their influences – and yes, you can certainly hear those influences in the ten tracks of this EP. But there are also other references: the pumping, frantic bass and drums in “Control” and it’s hacked off chorus by Matthias are clearly a nod to Joy Division and their hit “She Lost Control”; you can hear that Matthias has also oftentimes listened to Paul Banks and Interpol when he repeatedly sings “Evacuate and take control before it’s too late” (in “Evacuate”). Of course, as Interpol and Banks also were credited for transporting Joy Division into the 21st century, one can argue that this is a reference to the same thing basically.

Nevertheless, it becomes clear that Palila has gone through a kind of transition between the first EP and this collection, because “Are we Happy Now?” is surely more post-punk while the new tracks are more on an indie-rock basis. Maybe this also has to do with Jonas Czok taking over the seat behind the drums? However, the drums on the first four tracks are less frantic and pumping and more open to drive the song via use of the hi-hats, using the toms less than before. The songs and Matthias’ vocals are also changed, as there are now less Ian Curtis-depression-moments in his singing and sometimes even something like an Elton-John-phrasing or two. Generally, his phrasing is awesome as he performs differently on each track and thus gives them a whole new attitude and identity. There is always a bit of Neil Young, but as the songs became more vivid, his vocals also became more variable. This evolution is a good indicator for what is to come from Camp Palila. This also is noticeable when listening to the variability of the guitar lines on the new tracks. They are rocking much more straightforward and dominate the songs even a bit – but in a totally positive way. 

This EP is a perfect way of discovering not only a good new band but also their development and gives a hint at what might follow next. Palila, from Hamburg is worth more than just one short listen. 


Thorsten

progressive rock / djent

There has been a time when bands like Amplifier, Dredg and Oceansize were the latest shit in modern alternative music. When djent was not something you found on too many metal albums, when it was hip to be different but not to overthink stuff. These bands had something about their sound that set them apart and that something was often their use of drums and synths.

A few hours ago, a friend of mine told me about a band I should check out and he mentioned Dredg and Oceansize as references. Of course that immediately ignited my interest and man, I was not disappointed. This record really is a reminiscence why this kind of alternative hardcore was so interesting. “Connect” is the third release by this Indian band and their first after a long break since 2015. 

The drums are very poignant and poly-rhythmic, able to set real highlights into the tight-knit web of sound. The spherical synth elements are very well-set and round out a really remarkable listening experience. The guitars are crisp and with just the right amount of hall to turn some simple pickings into nice shortly meandering spaces. The only thing that one might point out negatively are the vocals as they sometimes are a bit too simple. 

To give you an example for this really well-constructed I want to point out the final track “Northern Lights” which has a very nice picking intro with a simple synth-space growing out of it. Both things might remind some people of Stabbing Westward and “Catch Without Arms”-period Dredg and when the guitar starts its little riff it completely changes the track. The drums set in and the song turns into an Alternative monster with a djenty guitar with the triplet notes in the middle making it even more interesting.

At the other end of the record we have the opening track “Hide” with all its rhythmic elements working with and simultaneously against each other. The vocals of this track are quite fitting for the band but sometimes they could break out more, become more dominant. Dredg songs were always even bigger with the vocals, here the vocals are good but don’t evolve the songs any further. 

I must point out something: This might not be a one-to-one-copy of the old classics like Oceansize or Circa Survive but it is an evolutionary step as it incorporates new elements taken from bands like TesseracT.  The tracks on “Connect” flow effortlessly into each other although they are clearly marked off from the next one, but nevertheless the record has the same flow as records by these stalwarts mentioned above. The guys might be the next big thing in alternative, progressive metal, so keep an eye open if you like crescendo-driven, hall-laden emotional guitar lines. 


​Thorsten

gothic rock

Let's pick another one of the pile of albums to be reviewed, shall we? From Vienna comes Exit To Eden, delivering a decent slab of gothic rock on their mini-album 'Love And Other Nightmares'. What they come up with is a groovy version of gothic rock, influenced by bands like Killing Joke, Christian Death and Lacrimosa, to name a few.

The only thing is, this mini-album comes with quite a weird into, a poem that somewhat sounds like Eminem being drunk on whiskey, something like that. The poem isn't that much of a shocker either, enter the gothic clichés, so to speak.

Luckily, the rest of this album rocks, bringing the guitars, the gritty vocals and the dark atmosphere of gothic rock. 'Goth 'n Roll Head' is an uptempo tune, with energetic vocals which often nudge towards the whole post-metal scene, screams and all. Once again, the listener will have to deal with nothing renewing or innovative. You might have heard all of this before but it'll be a decent dark rock party nonetheless.

I think 'Without That Pain' is my personal favorite here. This slow, sluggish tune somewhat reminds me of goth rock era Tiamat, which I think is a compliment. It's also the one where the distinct vocals seems to be suited best. Plus, from an overall music standpoint 'Without That Pain' is a most compelling tune on this mini-album. Here, the true quality of Exit To Eden shines true. One 'Bad Day' the band finally digs into the influences of Sisters Of Mercy and LOove Like Blood, which also is a compliment.

So what to remember from 'Love And Other Nightmares?' Putting together this version of gothic rock with lyrics about love gone bad makes comparisons to bands like Him plausible. Yet, unlike the overproduced music of Him, Exit To Eden comes up with a gritty, eerie and raw sound. My advice, check it out. It might be something up your alley or you might not like it at all. Fact remains, I don't hear a lot of death rock / gothic rock or whatever you call it these day, so this mini-album has been a lot of dark rocking fun...


​Serge

darkwave / post punk / goth rock

The Arch are without a doubt more popular outside their home country Belgium, some call them the best kept Belgian secret. VIII / XII is the third release since their comeback in 2011, containing a compilation of songs which were dropped monthly one by one during the year 2018. The four headed band  wrote, recorded and mixed  each song before starting on the next one. A diversity of music styles was folded together into twelve touching pieces of music.

We can’t deny that the sound of The Arch is recycled from the legendary new wave bands of the eighties and a lot of listeners will call this a copycat. Well, the music is far from original but the passion and ambition shows itself after a few attentive listening parts of this album. Fresh and merrily sounding guitar riffs with sensual synths convey a romantic pop sound without losing the gloomy atmosphere. The lyrics have a darker tenor than the music, which is very admissible.

The band is thirty years active, they started as friends, they disappeared, they came back and sound mature and better than ever. They flirt with gothic and indie rock that tinge their balanced (post) new wave style. On the folk inspired Cadaver synod, the band got the vocal cooperation of Blaine L. Reininger (Tuxedomoon). 

Hopefully this hard working band gets more attention from the Belgian music lovers. Their deep weaved reflections of this world deserves to be heard. We needed to put some more energy in this album to get deeper but it was worth. Good music doesn’t always trigger the mind immediately.  Depending on which medium you choose, the VIII stands for the number of tracks on the vinyl edition, the XII for the CD version.

​
Patsker

sludge metal

“Demonic Black Magick for Tortured Souls.” That’s one of the first sentences you read when coming across Seventh Circle’s FB-account. Interestingly this record has less death metal than you would assume after such a proclamation and after a record title referring to Dante’s Seven Circles of Hell. The record is a solid pastiche of stoner-influenced sludge metal with a share of death metal miniatures. The duo from California really hits some weak spots in all of those people who like their death metal a bit more on the hard rock-side with these three tracks.
The sound is gritty and heavy and the breakdowns are not too hardcore-ish so that those 13 minutes are over quicker than you wanted. Most interesting are those moments when they take some time to establish the mood of a song instead of just racing into it. The only thing that might be bothersome is the mixing because although of course a band like this should be produced raw and dirty but the vocals are too far in the background. 

black metal

Invictus Productions

Iron Bonehead Productions

Belgium’s black metal band Possession brought a totally new concept to split EPs at the end of November by releasing two different splits with two different bands but with one unifying theme. “Passio Christi Part I / Witch’s Spell” is their split with Spite from the US and “Passio Christi Part II / Necrophagus Abandon” is the one with Venefixion from France. The second part of each record’s title is one of the track of Possession split partner. 
Interesting about these two separate releases on two different labels with bands spanning five countries is that it all sounds very organic and as if this was meant to be. But the logistics and planning for this thing must have been arduous. 
However, when playing both records in a row, you do not have the feeling of a loss of quality or a change in sound and vision. The releases each start with a very atmospheric intro by Possession with the second one even played on a church organ and incorporates carillon bells. Very, very good. The Belgians pursue their idea of a raw punkish sound and attitude, a high-octane version of black metal. “Stabat Mater”, the last of their six tracks total, ends in a whirlwind of drums and riffs that has mantra-qualities just before their final contribution to this duo split turns the song into an instant classic as they take up the intro from “Passio Christi Part I” again using a choir to make their songs one big entity. 
The other two bands are not only bystanders but take part immensely with each giving their respective releases a different element. Spite, for example, delivers the cover song that each good split should have doing Manitú’s “Cruel Creator” in their own way, very lo-fi and very chilling.  Venefixion, on the other hand, do the best thing to do after a song as good as “Stabat Mater” - they do their own piano-intro (!) and then all hell breaks loose, no barriers holding back, no hostages taken, no one left standing in their way – straightforward black metal!
As a final say, one has only very seldom heard such a coherent, thoughtful conceived combination of split series as this one!

psychedelic / stoner / rock

The California-based trio is set to release their next album on Valentine’s day next year and “8hr Parking” is the first single off of that record which will be called “Mortal Foils” and released via Italy’s specialist label Heavy Psych Sounds Records. 
And as this is not their first release but another one in quite a long list of excellent ones, it shows that singer/guitarist Enver Koneya, bassist Travis Williams and drummer Braden McGraw really know what they want to sound like – a mixture of “full-throttle, pedal to the metal” and “whirling swooshing Tornado jet”. The new song thunders like steamrolling in a Mad Max-vehicle without roof right through Los Angeles all the way up the coast with the wind rushing through your hair while tanking north on Pacific Highway 101 and then having to step down a bit because otherwise the turns and curves will not be mastered especially in Big Sur and North. If the upcoming record is as convincing as this one then we might up for something special!

alternative rock

Sometimes there comes a band that is able to emulate a sound that directly brings up several memories from your past that you had forgotten you had somewhere deep in you. Now a lot of you readers will say “Of course that is what good music should be able to so that you find a connection to it!” For clarification: Listening to an EP with the singer in the first song sounding like a first-class Layne Staley impersonator is never a bad thing, especially when he concentrates on the articulation and breathing and not on the impossible to imitate the voice of Alice in Chains’ front man. With the second using the same bells that Radiohead used for “Karma Police” is another very positive thing and the third one witnessing a voice imitating Thom’s way of phrasing words and sounds while the band is finding the middle between both bands the author of these lines is back in a room at home with the lights on, thinking about former loves and igniting hundreds of candles to fit his mood. Or is that just what this record wants me to feel like? Probably; well: Well done!

Thorsten

post rock/ progressive rock / alternative rock

The Shape Of Things To Come is an album released in November 16, by progressive rock project No Sudden Moves, from Melbourne, Australia. A very concise musical effort, the record is just over thirty-six minutes long. With eight tracks — 1) The Shape Of Things To Come; 2) Cause And Effect; 3) Stroll On; 4) First Contact; 5) Nothing's Easy; 6) The Space Between; 7) This Is The Life; 8) I Wander; — The Shape Of Things To Come is a sensationally beautiful album, despite the fact that it does not bring any extravagant innovation into the forefront of the genre. Nevertheless, the record display phenomenal virtues, that deserves to be highlighted. Its light, clean and well-diluted sound is harmonically cohesive, exceptionally vivid and radically authorial, at least to a certain level. 

The style of the artist is technically consistent and displays a respectable degree of proficiency; as a matter of fact, each track possesses its own singular qualities. The serene poetic densities of the third track, Stroll On, and the oblique tonalities of the fifth track, Nothing's Easy — whose melodies ultimately converts into a moderately progressive tune —, exhibit a thoughtful and efficient eclecticism, that over the course of the entire album, demonstrates in a very undisputed fashion that the artist is quite secure even in an expressive range of musical territories, though he never leaves the genre, knowing how to explore lucidly, and how to add especial flavors, even to the assiduously traditional diagrams conceived by the wonderful mosaic that his spectacular style invariably becomes. 

With a sensible and serene sonorous disposition, that eagerly projects over the diffusive lines of its melodies the dense elements of its own introspective horizon of dispersive and abstract creativity, the music exhibited on this work — despite the extensive use of elements that make the sonority, to a certain degree, quite predictable —, is also surprisingly versatile and distinct, because the artist already in the beginning displays his ability to explore wisely and profusely the most diverse conjuncture of tonalities, resonances and harmonies, within the expansive dimensional context of his restless and proverbial style. 

There's no doubt that the overall sound displayed by the artist is profoundly sensible and original. With a serene, but at the same time colorful gracefulness, the artist conceives a world of sound so dehydrated and detached — whose unimaginable beauty stands beyond the horizon of its own soul —, that the fantastic tranquility crafted by the music creates a renitent splendor, that floats endlessly towards the everlasting poetic nature of its wonderfully sensitive and delightful melodies. 

Despite the fact that — in a general evaluation — the music displayed by this artist is quite simple, The Shape Of Things To Come reveals itself as a majestically unique and very audacious work of art, whose most virtuous elements come from its subtle authorial ambitions, that at first doesn't stand out, but slowly expand to all sonorous spaces, like the sunlight, that slowly illuminates the whole morning. With primarily organic compositions that exalt the full vigor of its elegant beauty, this album is a remarkable milestone of ambient rock music, that deserves to be fully appreciated, and above of all, recognized by the graceful uniqueness, the authorial sensibilities and the splendorous consistency of its versatile and dynamic musicality.


Wagner

post metal / folk metal

Every once in a while a new side of a regular genre is opened and forces people to open their notions of and vocabulary for said genre. With Boreal Hymn from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada it’s quite the same. They offer an quite unique blend of medieval sounds, chants and post-metal songwriting with regular gurgling singing and guttural screaming. This EP is their debut and the four “pagan revelries” as the duo calls them show some pretty interesting ideas of composing a sound somewhere between Junius, Agalloch on the one side and Heilung, Wardruna on the other side. The soundscapes remind one of a bodhran, acoustic guitars, medieval horns and – on the other hand – some droney, ambient parts. The prominent members Colby Hink (known from Wormwitch) and Bronson Lee Norton (The Seer) have embarked one a new sound and although one naturally must remark upon the (momentary) inadequacies of the songwriting as their ideas and skills still need some refinement but one should remember this is still a demo and remember to follow this band on one of their social media outlets or the usual streaming services – they might be up to something refreshingly new.

black metal

Bands like Agalloch or The Ruins of Beverast have shown how shamanistic (and in part nihilistic) ritualistic Black Metal can be, a band like Heilung stresses the ritual-aspect of the music much more than their black metal roots. And now there is a band who started more than ten years ago, The Deathtrip, who are back with only their second real full-length, Demon Solar Totem released via Profound Lore and Svart Records.  A band that definitely knows how to purvey a cold atmosphere while playing with shaman chants and small bells and lots of passages that remind one more of a pagan mass that puts a spell on its audience. The production is raw to say the least, sometimes this whirlwind of an album doesn’t give away whether the sounds are real soundscapes or mere very dirty feedback. This “super-group” with members of Grave Pleasures, Dodheimsgard and My Dying Bride tries to encapsulate the essence of raw ritualistic metal aiming for an effect of fear of affection. Either you hate it or you leave it – true for most black metal bands, The Deathtrip being one of the better ones albeit not of the same level as the genre forerunners mentioned above. 

black metal

Two songs, one hour. No, we are not talking about a radio edit of Bell Witch’s “Mirror Reaper” but about a new release by Chicago-based three-piece Canyon of the Skull consisting of guitarist Erik Ogershok (who even moved to the US a few years ago in order to follow his dreams with the band), bass player Todd Haug (Powermad, 1349) and drummer Mike Miczek (The Atlas Moth). Ogershok is the mastermind behind it all and he wanted to purvey an image of a ritual performed by the Natives of Northern America, as he named the two tracks “The Ghost Dance” and “The Sun Dance”, the first one alluding to the ritual that should connect the living and the dead in order for the ghosts to wake up and fight the white colonialists. Clearly a sign of frustration and despair. The songs show remarkable songwriting skills as the band’s kind of black metal is really refreshing and is able to make the listener feel connected to the spiritual world due to its meditative character. An album for everybody interested in some form of instrumental music channeling stoner rock, doom and black metal. Put the record on, dive in and drop out. 

indie / rock

The Get Up Kids, The Goo Goo Dolls, The Spielbergs. Who? The Spielbergs! A three-piece power pop band from Oslo is on its way to become the new sensation in bubblegum punk. Of course, we have heard songs like the title track or “Fake A Reaction” or “Daisy! It’s the New Me” quite often. There is hardly something new in a genre whose heydays are twenty years past. However, there will always be an audience for this kind of music as there will always be new generations of youth who need their own (loser) anthems. The title track is one of those songs to which you can already see late teens and early twens dancing and singing along to, shouting out such anthemic slogans like “I don’t wanna be worthless / Just let me go back to start” or also “I was more than good to go / I wish you finally gave in” (from “Oh No”). Interestingly, there is as much Placebo in here as there are the Replacements, just as much uptempo as there is distortion. And who knows – maybe the Spielbergs are the ignition for a revival of a music genre that can never perish but that is always forgotten by the elders!


​Thorsten

progressive / alternative / rock / metal

Originality in the music business nowadays is very rare. Almost every band likes to say that they are pushing the boundaries of what they are producing but in reality what transpires is more of the same but with maybe a small twist. Step forward anonymous collective Sleep Token. The band say they worship a deity with an unpronounceable name, but for the purposes of their music, it's pronounced Sleep. 

They burst onto the scene a few years ago with their debut EP 'one' which sounded like nothing else at the time. The mix of dreamy pop with the incredible voice of front man Vessel mixed with downright obscene heavy breakdowns was a breath of fresh air and instantly got the attention of music lovers everywhere. Over the two EP's they seemed to accumulate more acclaim each week. In fact, the only criticism of them it seemed, was that they were a bit of a one trick pony. Would there debut album be more of the same or would they be able to produce something else? Well, the answer to that question is that they have produced something incredible.

The album starts off with the dream like 'The night does not belong to god' which does a brilliant job of accentuating Vessels sublime vocal skills. He sings with such emotions that at times, it sounds like he is close to tears. This segues into 'The Offering' which is an absolute highlight and one of the heavier tracks on the album. The disgustingly good breakdown is glorious and it's at this point you start to realise that not one single note is out of place on this album, the musicianship of the whole band is first class but special mention must be made to the drummer who although anonymous is absolutely at the top of his game. 

The next couple of songs showcase Vessels talents again and reign in the heavier side of the group but this does nothing to diminish the impact of the songs, which vear from catchy dreamy pop into lush guitar driven passages so beautifully you'd think that this kind of thing was easy, it's not, far from it, in fact it's bloody difficult getting something that sounds this natural to be anything other than a mess, and they nail it, completely. The two song combination of 'Give' leading into 'Gods' sounds like it shouldn't work with the former songs deftly building gorgeous arrangements butting up against the latter songs immense heaviness, but again, it does work. 

The upward trajectory of this band is something special indeed. If a group can lure in fans from cross genres then they are onto a recipe for success, I would not be at all surprised that if you went to see them live, you would be just as likely to bump into some wearing a Meshuggah t-shirt as you would someone in a Sam Smith or Florence and the Machine top. I cannot recommend this album enough and you really should give it a listen if you are interested in music that moves you.


Simon

dark rock

Nothing new under those vast Scandinavian skies – yes! Nothing boring in the wide open spaces – yes! Nocturnalia are a good example that a mix of Rainbow, Deep Purple, the 69 Eyes combined with a singer who clearly likes Bruce Dickinson never gets boring. For we have heard those things so often before we can clearly identify the roots – always a great thing for every fan(atic) as he can display his knowledge. However, there is something else to that mix that lies beneath the obvious and that is some good and clever songwriting because we must remember – copying is one thing but taking lessons from idols is another. Nocturnalia definitely follow the second line and we can take singer Linus Ekermo as an example here: He knows his Bruce, he knows his Dio but he never dares to simply copy them, he adds little singular characteristics once in a while, for example in “Winter Hymn” when his (nearly) spoken word is a great atmospheric moment - “Frost be the sign of this lost ending year /  Darkness embrace me for winter draws near” words and phrases heard before but combined with a sound reminiscent of the wind of uilleann pipes and a second (at the beginning nearly inaudible) vocal line we are still drawn to it and keep on spinning “III Winter”. 

hard rock / classic rock

Wooden Earth (look at that band name – you already see the green smoke rising in the desert) are to release their new track “Fangs” on December 13th. The Dallas-based duo consisting of guitarist Devin Moreno and drummer/vocalist Griffin Thomas will release their debut full length next year and are currently touring their ….. off. No new witches’ brew in their mix of two similar genres, but their play with dynamics is definitely worth lending your ear if you like Red Fang’s ferociousness, QOTSA’s pop appeal and some scruffy vocals to accompany all of that. They throw in a riff that is really genre-like but their dynamics draws you in and the small kicks from the side in form of a sharp noisy lick keep you going just as much as the 60s style psychedelic organ in the background which keeps the atmosphere light and tight. Here you go, Stoner fans, you might have another band to follow! What a name anyway!

metalcore

My media player sometimes plays a trick on me and doesn’t enlist the tracks in the right order but reverses them, so that the last track is played first. It did that when I started listening to Moonreich’s recent EP Wormgod, and thus the first thing I heard was “Broken” and the first vocals I heard were “If you want control without any pain / How long will you suffer? / How long will you reign?” My mind racing, where had I, what did they, whom had they….  and then memory retrieved the wanted information – it’s a cover of a Depeche Mode-song! No, nothing worrisome about that cover but well, the rest is solid work. A lot of grindy-metalcore, blastbeats, solid screaming gutturals, some quick and harsh turns, a few moments reminiscent of Slipknot (supposedly a major influence) and some posty-swirling guitar loops. A solid Metalcore band doing some solid Post-Metal songs but being unable to hide their roots. A good band to start your summer festival day with, but well …if it wasn’t for that Depeche Mode-cover!

dub doom

Ever wondered what it would sound like if Godflesh emphasized the metal side a bit more and a bit dirtier? Less sterile and less dubby? With a bit less verve and some more doomy gloom? Then you might find yourself drawn to Blackwood, an electro-doom-metal-project headed by Italian artist and composer Eraldo Bernocchi who – via Subsound Records has just released his new EP “Of Flies” with the help of vocalist Emilia Moncayo and a lot of samples, for example the urgent screams “Conductor we have a problem! Press emergency!” taken from a YouTube-video filmed a few years ago, when a man ran around in an American subway screaming these words all the time. The songs are like a descent into the hell of the human psyche, one does not want to listen because of the grittiness of the songs but it it somehow impossible to stop because there might be another even more sensational sound or sample or scream just around the corner of this dirty wall of sound. And just before the finger hits the button he calms it down again and then surrounds the ears with some soothing parts and ethereal moments. But the dirt is always just one step away. A great introduction into a genre some people might never have imagined. Or never wanted to imagine. 

dark ambient / edm / house

“Always on my mind”. Elvis. His late years. A classic. Always recognizable. Always? No, not as in always always, because as Ghostboy shows with his version, starting out like a desert slo-mo-acoustic guitar version then turning into slow ambient song, even a song we have all heard a trillion times can be hard to recognize even though he sticks to the original lyrics. This song was my reason to listen to the new EP by Ghostboy released on and for Halloween and thus aptly titled “Disgusting”. Four songs revolving around the themes lost love, death, loneliness and ghosts are presented here by the electronica artist, who combines burbling dream-pop with dark electronica parts or classical house elements and sometimes garners them with an interesting detail, like the aforementioned acoustic guitar. The only fault in the EP: The cover doesn’t totally fit in with the others, even though it is quite an original track, but its lyrical mood is so different and furthermore because of said western-intro. Maybe he should choose a real Halloween classic for such a themed release – my suggestion: “The Boy with the Arab Strap”. Otherwise, it becomes clear where Ghostboy comes from and where he’s headed as he stays immensely authentic. 

Thorsten