Album Review: Ghost:Hello – Sound of Color in Space (Self Released)

Ghost:Hello is a synth-loving stoner rock family affair from northeast Ohio. Made up of a husband/wife duo and their cousin, the band members have been playing for decades. With extensive individual histories touring around the US and in Europe in other DIY groups, this project just feels like a natural continuation. Together as a family and as musicians, Ghost:Hello is now ready to take the rock n roll world by the horns.

Bringing in all sorts of unorthodox elements into their fuzz rock assault, this trio counterbalances stoner sludge with trip hop grooves. The group has never been afraid to experiment, and Ghost:Hello is completely a slave to their various muses; this leads to an elegant fusion of influences of bands like Type O Negative to Fatso Jetson by way of Queens of the Stone Age. The band has amassed an impressive social media following since its inception, even with a debut album still on the way. The upcoming record, Sound of Color in Space, will be available in digital and CD formats September 20th, 2019.

A very unique offering, Ghost:Hello’s beginnings make for an interesting read. The question surrounding their future though is well and truly answered on this, their debut album.

A sci-fi intro with Alcubierre Metric is followed by a wicked rolling drum beat and sharp burst of riffing from Fingerstache. Now this is more like it. Peppy, energetic and a little bit groovy. It’s a little rough around the edges but that really suits.

How do they follow that? By showcasing just how eclectic a band they are. Perfect is very strange with it’s chilled beat and odd vocals but is quite catchy. It’s quite a jump in style though which is likely to be a bit off putting for some.

The Mouth of the Gift Horse is a bit more frantic and rockier but layered with some mind-aching fuzz. Short and to the point, unlike the next wandering oddity, Bardo State. Personally, this track is a miss. Monotonous and overly long, the recording-style voices and same drum pattern just doesn’t appeal.

Sounding as little like Marilyn Manson vocally, Nemesis’ is an improvement even though it is just as slow. The focus on humming bass is different and it’s just another major showcase of Ghost:Hello’s imagination.

There’s no argument that they’re an imaginative bunch but you can’t help but wish for a little more coherency in the album overall. Sure, it keeps things on edge and you really never know what you’re going to get next but it does make it feel less structured.

Still enjoyable, just not got great replay value baring a few tracks. Ones such as Burnout with its mix of stoner riffs and synthy effects, the rollicking fun of Spit of Stars that devolves into some crashing heaviness and the chilled out finish of Poison Swan.

Ghost:Hello – Sound of Color in Space Full Track Listing:

1. Alcubierre Metric
2. Fingerstache
3. Perfect
4. The Mouth of the Gift Horse
5. Bardo State
6. Nemesis
7. Burnout
8. Spit of Stars
9. Poison Swan

Links

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