Meet indie-rock Gold Coast sing-slingers Super Ghost. The dynamic duo consists of Alexander Shoesmith & Hudson MacMahon, and they're proud to unveil their latest single, 'Waiting List,' available now. This incredible tune is but a precursor to their highly anticipated debut EP, coming out at the end of this month on October 29th! Have a sneaky listen here:
The track begins with the slippity slappety of the big old bass strings, and only gets more hectic from there. It follows on from their last release, 'Vertex,' a certified Bangolian Tiger, smooth and ruminative. We were extremely lucky to have the chance to catch up with the Ghostie Boys, and pick their brains a little:
You label your latest track ‘Waiting List’ as “[describing] the feelings of isolation and eeriness surrounding liminal spaces”. Was there a specific event that can be pointed to as the influence for the song?
We all discussed the weird feeling of being alone on the motorway, a petrol station, or a parking lot and thought we would look it up. We found that liminal spaces describes a space that you pass through and the eeriness and mystique surrounding it. Waiting List was about incorporating aesthetics and textures that felt in line with this phenomenon.
Your debut EP is dropping 29 October. What can you tell us about the make-up of the EP and the tracks included? Are there any specific inspirations woven into the EP?
Left for Dust is our debut six-track EP and is due for release on the 29th of October. An underlying concept we had for this EP was to mix strong elements from different genres. We wanted to keep our guitar tone as clean as possible to create more space for other melodic movement. Our influences come from a variety of genres, from jazz to death metal we really listen to everything. We decided to take elements from punk, spaghetti western soundtracks, surf music and alternative rock to create our own modern spin.
Lullaby is the first track of the record, which seems fitting as it’s the first song we wrote. Also, the intro to this song creates an eerie canvas and texture that helps set the tone of the EP. The lead guitar riff after the intro was super exhilarating to write and sort of just popped into our head while jamming. Lullaby is a crowd favourite, so we are super excited to finally release it.
Graceless is our favourite track out of the release. We called in an old high-school instrumental teacher to lay down some trumpet tracks and Alex played trombone too. We just thought it really added some texture to the song and helped bring out a western vibe. The musical elements of the song explores an interesting relationship between early 60s surf music, spaghetti western soundtracks, disco and alternative rock. The unusual breakdown incorporating a belting china cymbal, with modulated guitars creates an interesting intensity rarely found in this soundscape. This coupled with the disco beats in the first verse, show the creative freedom we are expressing with our tracks.
Being a part of the Gold Coast music scene, are there any artists from the GC you have really been rating lately? And what is your favourite part of the scene on the Gold Coast?
The Gold Coast scene is a great place to be right now, we’ve got venues like Vinnie’s Dive and BBQ Bazaar which have been great to play at. It’s a different feeling playing on the coast, it’s a lot more relaxed. There definitely still needs to be some more Gold Coast venues, but we feel the scene is really growing at the moment.
Charlesworth was one of the first bands we saw at BBQ Bazaar which blew us away, we really hope they release some music soon because they’ve got a great sound. We have also seen Lotus Ship a couple of times on the Gold Coast and they were an entertaining live act. Their latest album Digital Future is out now and is a great listen.
Your debut single ‘Vertex’ came out in August of this year. Can you speak to how writing, recording and producing music during the pandemic has affected you?
The pandemic has really been a challenge, but there are definitely people in the scene more affected by this than us. We only really got together in January this year and started writing music. We were very fortunate to get gigging by April and have Vertex out in August. Surprisingly the pandemic has been pretty productive for our writing, giving us lots of time to sit down and really work out what we want in a song, as well as scoring the music. Recording at airlock was great and I think we were very fortunate to not have any of those dates affected by COVID-19 restrictions. The release of Vertex was pretty difficult as the Southeast Queensland lockdown set back the date for our show. It’s amazing what the people working in health are doing right now and we are looking forward to coming out of this pandemic with our heads held high.
What does 2022 and beyond have in store for Super Ghost?
With current border restrictions and the state of the pandemic, it’s hard to know what’s in store for next year. We have been working on new material and hope to release some music next year. We would love to get some opportunities playing for different crowds especially interstate and on festivals, but who knows?
Who would be your dream act (dead or alive) to jam with?
We have to answer this question with Jeff Buckley. Hudson is in love with him and can often be found in his room crying about his early departure. Fantastic musician!
A huge shout out and thank you to Super Ghost. Who wouldn't love the chance to play with Jeff "Soggy Shoes" Buckley? Much love for our Dream Brother, the Buckmeister. These two tracks from the Golden Goldie Boys are already crazy enough, so let's just all take a moment to step back and imagine how ridiculous the whole EP is going to be. I can't wait either. Record it in your Dream Journal. Save the date. Christmas is coming early this year kids, and it's on October 29th.