New Ghost – Future Is Dead (self-released)
Sheffield-based art-rock collective New Ghost – featuring members of Dystopian Future Movies and 65DAYSOFSTATIC – release EP Future Is Dead.
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Artist: New Ghost
EP: Future Is Dead
Label: self-released
Released: 3 July 2020
Find it: Bandcamp | Spotify
If you’re looking for swelling emotive art-rock then look no further than Future Is Dead, the second release from Sheffield-based collective New Ghost. Fronted by ex-Firesuite Chris Anderson members from Dystopian Future Movies, 65DAYSOFSTATIC and Awooga it’s a supergroup of sorts, and definitely a collaboration which is paying sonic dividends.
Across the three tracks vocals from Caroline Cawley (DFM) provide a foil for Anderson, sometimes standing against or swirling around the other, sometimes blending to soften out the whole. There are cinematic surging guitars, bold sounds and while the collection is cohesive there’s enough variation to keep each track interesting alone.
Opener Your Reds is an alt-rock monolith leading the charge with the strongest riffs on the EP, while midpoint Fountain is a softer and slower piece shaped from synths. Final track Every River has more funk to its rhythms and by its ending is where the strongest pop feel seeps through – not that it’s ever frothy, but it is catchily melodic and opens out to give the drums space to shine. There’s some interesting time changes in this piece measured by melodic arpeggios and more vocal interplay.
Anderson said of the EP, “There’s a long line of EP’s I’ve become obsessed with over the years, namely ‘The Secret Of Elena’s Tomb’ by Trail Of Dead, the ‘EP+6’ collection by Mogwai, ‘Tremulant’ by The Mars Volta and ‘Undersea’ by The Antlers (to name a few), so the aim was to try and make something in the same vein as those. A tiny, intense world that you would live in for a very short period of time.
“There’s a definite through line on Future Is Dead thematically, but it didn’t need to have the same level of cohesion of sympathetic frequencies. Each moment here was intended to stand on its own and be presented as its own monument, each song its own complete meal.”
Alongside the EPs he mentioned they draw more broadly on influence from Deftones to St Vincent, and Mew to Emma Ruth Rundle this EP follows on from a debut album released last year. Already we hear a group growing in confidence, locking down to more polished production, and making the most of contributing player’s strengths for something that really is greater than the sum (of its already great) parts.
Find New Ghost: Bandcamp | Spotify
Check out: what we said about the latest Dystopian Future Movies record.
- Follow our New Music 2020 playlist for a weekly update of fresh releases.
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Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
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