Formed in Sheffield in 2019, New Ghost have been making taller and taller waves over the last five years with their gorgeously polished rock sound. The five-piece switch from shoegaze to dreampop, from art-rock to post-rock and do so with an effortlessness than many more seasoned bands can only dream of. While Sheffield's alternative rock scene may be dominated by the raw and energetic guitars of indie rock quartets, New Ghost serve as a glorious reminder of the Sheffield alternative scene is as wide and varied as any in the country.
With one mini album, two EPs and around half a dozen standalone singles to their belt, they are now ready to unleash the full breadth of their creativity and musicality on a single project, with the release of their album A Dagger In Every Tide. Having made three consecutive BBC Introducing "Best Of" end of year lists, the quintet look set to warp up a fourth entry with this piercingly intimate piece of shoegaze indie.
The album benefits from a variety of astounding guest contributions and was recorded with long time collaborator Tom Henthom at the incredibly important Sheffield institution of Make Noise Studios, an institution that needs help to continue their work in helping bands like New Ghost with projects like this. More information can be found on their website.
The band tell that A Dagger In Every Tide was written in the wake of a near death experience. This almost cataclysmic event has saturated every second of the 50-minute record with a lingering sense of loss and an ever-present feeling of urgency. Knowing this was the catalyst for the album does make the listening experience incredibly autobiographical and personal, maybe to a disquieting degree. The sense of pain and grief exists on every hook, in every resounding guitar line and every pounding drumbeat ... In every nostalgic vocal and every painstaking lyric.
This loss and urgency is adapted in many ways through the album to conjure various stories. On 'Over' the loss is of a life squandered through addiction, whereas on 'Red & Blue' the loss is that of a loved one and the inescapable grief thereafter. The pain felt is beautifully translated into cacophonous guitars, crashing drums and searing vocals. Both 'Over' and 'Red & Blue' are standouts when listening to this LP with their luscious, sweeping and almost overpowering instumentation melding with delicate yet powerful vocals.
Highlights elsewhere for us come in the form of 'Dreamsong' and 'Wayfarer'. These deviate from the heavier aspects of other tracks found on the album to offer a sort of respite at points. The pop promise of the quintet comes to the forefront on these tracks in different ways. 'Dreamsong' feels like a slice of prog-rock, dreamgaze gold with it's ethereal atmosphere and hazy introspection, whereas 'Wayfarer' puts the guitars fully on the backburner in favour of glitchy synths and intricate electronic percussion to create an irresistible and attention-grabbing track.
The album takes cues from a variety of influences, much like the band that created it. New Ghost are a melting pot of ideas and influences but are never unoriginal. On A Dagger In Every Tide there are the fingerprints of bands like Deftones and Mogwai for their relentless and unapologetic experimentation, but you can also hear artists like Beach House and Mew in the dreamier cuts like the aforementioned 'Wayfarer'. There is one thing in particular that this rather eclectic mix share though, a willingness and necessity to innovate, a willingness that New Ghost display in spades.
A Dagger In Every Tide is nine songs, nine incredibly varied but equally focused tracks. And yet, it never feels like a compilation, each inclusion is deliberate and curated. There is a narrative thread that permeates through the album, tying each song to one another to tell the story of the narrators imagined death and subsequent search for loved ones.
The idea that tragedy can inspire the best art is nothing new, it has been an ever-present theory in cultures the world over for thousands of years. Despite this, it never ceases to amaze how artists can take this unequivocal pain and translate it into breathtaking pieces of work. On A Dagger In Every Tide, New Ghost only serve to add to this long-held theory in their own haunting and heartfelt way.
A Dagger In Every Tide is available to purchase here and is also available on all streaming platforms now.
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