Brooklyn Based Duo, Warm Ghost, Creates Haunting Vibes On Upcoming LP
By Eric Hehr in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 28, 2011 7:30PM
Narrows by Warm Ghost
Narrows, Warm Ghosts first LP, will be released this fall on Partisan Records. Narrows is a more comprehensible, expanded extension of Warm Ghosts first EP, Claws Overhead, but what Claws Overhead flirted with, Narrows commits to.
Narrows is made up of nine cinematic tracks that stay consistent with each other from start to finish - all adhering to the same distinct, haunting mood. It’s a cold, evocative journey through post-modern soundscapes, made warm and romantic by the sense of bravado in Duncans crooning voice. Sonically, Narrows weaves itself in and out of vast landscapes covered in delay and echo; there are layers upon layers of textual loops and instrumentation on each track. “It’s all about making our music more challenging to the ear,” explains Oliver Chapoy. “There is so much happening throughout the songs, little sound bursts, hypnotic rhythms that help maintain the balance between an electronic pop album and an experimental one.”
Narrows certainly boasts a large library of eccentric sounds and instrumentation combinations. The arrangements on tracks like “I Will Return” include everything from delayed xylophones to dissonant drones to syncopated toms reminiscent of an old Roland TR-808.
“Ply7,” an instrumental track which serves as a dramatic intermission mid-way through the album, is made up of an assault of dynamically building loops and sound-effects: oscillating synths replicating laser beams, trains chugging along railroad tracks, groups of people conversing and laughing, and warbling alarms throbbing in the background. By the time you can finally pick apart all of the different textual layers, the track comes to an eerie close, leaving only the sound of a reverb stained ghost train leaving an unknown station.
Narrows is not just a journey through eerie, experimental soundscapes though. It does have its pop-orientated moments, like the track, “Inside and Out.” The track begins with a torrent of fuzzed out synths, and then kicks into a mid-tempo groove reminiscent of an 80’s minimalistic new-wave band. The strong vocal hook in the chorus is made lush by resonating backup vocals, and by the last chorus reprisal the melody is already deeply embedded in your head.
Supposedly, the concept behind Warm Ghost was inspired by a Katharina Fritsch image called “Gesist und Blutlache,” which is a sparse and creepy portrayal of what some think is a ghost staring at a pool of blood, and others think is the image of a kid wearing a white sheet, standing over a crimson-splashed slab of concrete. Whatever the case may be, Paul Duncan was so captivated by Katharina Fritschs enigmatic image that it helped inspire the haunting atmosphere of Narrows. Like Warm Ghost, Fritschs work is also hard to categorize. She is best known for her sculptures and installations that reinvigorate familiar objects with a jarring, uncanny sensibility. Keeping Fritschs influence in mind, perhaps Narrows is a case of art reflecting art. Warm Ghost creates thick soundscapes like M83, sample splintered bits of field recordings like Aphex Twin, craft moody atmospheres like Grizzly Bear, and revel in the same hazy, dreamy tone that Washed Out does. Yet, Warm Ghost manages to maintain a signature sound that is all their own. Like Fritsch, they too are reinvigorating familiar sounds with an inimitable sensibility.
For more information on Warm Ghost, check out -
www.facebook.com/warmghost
www.warmghost.com
www.partisanrecords.com/artists/warm-ghost