We Have A Ghost makes some electronic ambient experimental music that actually has some serious teeth to it. This self titled album is the debut LP from We Have A Ghost and it’s mostly an instrumental affair, with only two tracks containing vocals. The first two tracks “The Secret” and “Computerrok” get things hectically swirling and contain some really killer live drumming, the third song “Electric Blanket” really slows things down to a somber mellow and then the unexpected happens a few lines of faint vocals creep in for a few measures and then slowly fade away. That’s the last your gonna hear from the vocals for a few songs.
The album continues with “The Incident” a dark and sauntering song that sounds like a perfect soundtrack to a serial killer stalking his next victim. Track five “It Is What It Is” combines some sparkling keys with more of the ferocious live drumming towards the end of the track, which makes for great juxtaposition. I always love when songs are able to mix pretty sounding elements with more rough aggressive sounds. The vocals return on track six “Walk Away,” but this time it seems that We Have A Ghost has awaken from his sleepy haze with more confident and pronounced melodies. This song brings lighter more optimistic feel with it, as if “The Incident” represented the dead of night, “It Is What It Is” symbolizing the dawn of the day, and “Walk Away sounding like a glorious sunrise. Track seven “Meadow” drags the mood away from the sunlight and back into the instrumental shadows, with the following song “To Begin Again” continuing on in the same manner. The album really slows down with the closing numbers”Maymoor Park” and “Sleepy Cells”, with the later track building back into some more boisterous live drumming and static waves towards the end.
I have listened through We Have A Ghost over a half a dozen times now. After these multiple spins, I have formed my own concept and theme for the album. After analyzing the varying energies and tempos that ebb and flow throughout the 10 track album it really starts to resemble a journey through the day. As if the first two high energy tracks begin with our previously mentioned serial killer finishing off his latest victim just as the sun sets, with “Electric Blanket” sound-tracking the scene where the killer feels remorse and disposes of the body. The already described scenes with tracks four through six where the killer stalks his new victim in the dead of night and finding satisfaction and peace with his new captured conquest once morning comes. Then he begins his work of torture in despair throughout the remainder of the album, with the final song ramping him back up for another night of murderous activities.
Now maybe this is a really twisted way to look at some pretty cool and creative ambient electronic music and I am not saying that We Have A Ghost is a serial killer (maybe he is, I don’t know), but the way the moods and feel flowed throughout the album made me create this sadistic adventure in my head. What would really be cool though, is if We Have A Ghost purposely created the album to symbolize this one day serial killer journey and I somehow cracked the code. If I did I deserve a prize, oh wait… I already have my prize, because this album is straight up awesome!
Rating: 4/5
http://wehaveaghost.com/