The Golden Goldie Boys are back! Ever since we interviewed Super Ghost for their head-turning single, 'Waiting List,' I've been ticking off the days and eating chocolates from a little Super Ghost-themed advent calendar which I keep on my Super Ghost shrine in my Super Ghost room. And as the shrine candles started to run out of wick, I knew the day was almost upon us. And that day hath come! October 29 saw the release of their debut EP, Left for Dust. The EP features 6 tracks which feature more deadly bangacuda's than even the band HEART could ever poke a stick at.
The Gold Coast duo consists of Alexander Shoesmith & Hudson MacMahon, who stated:
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.
So let's jump into the tracks and discover these eclectic influences for ourselves.
Number one is 'Lullaby,' which a little birdie told me was actually the first song they ever wrote together. Immediately we hear the surf influences, with a horror cascade down on the strings. We get some bass and guitar which could fill an empty room, and then the funk comes and punches us in our eager faces. If this is their first song, then they truly are born freakazoids. There's a lot of cool techniques and craft here, be it in the vocals, the strings, the beat and everything in-between. A whisking solo takes us into the future and gives us a pet on the back. Of the EP, the band stated:
“‘Left for Dust’ aims to explore themes of liminal spaces, illogical social customs and anxieties that coincide with the human rat race."
And we really see that already, with their monotonous Matrix-album covers and the lyrical content, trying to break free. Let's see what else they've packed in our lunchboxes.
'Graceless' comes sauntering in next. This one is packing the Western-themed guitar riffs, spiced with flamenco and hands hovering over pistols. The stringslingers quickdraw some sultry Tijuana brass and the beat comes swingin'. The vocals in this song are rich and winding, and the song weaves a web which is inescapable. Tugging on our ear hairs with silken threads, this track is steamy and sleek. This is juxtaposed perfectly with the next item on our itinerary.
Track 3, 'Preserved,' begins with a jugular-punch to the bass. Slappin' and poppin' and blappin' and boppin,' it then takes our hand and leads us down a trepid path with a monotonous wall of choral voices. It sounds like the hand tunnel in David Bowie's Labyrinth. This song is very interesting, because it encompasses so many emotions from high to low, always in contrast.
That does it for the A-side, let's check out the B. 'Haze' starts with a breathy voice lick and a punk motif. We then move into a drum-driven shuffle and spiral deeper. In this song particularly, you can hear the interesting effect of the clean-guitars - usually this type of track would have the gain on and here you can really hear the different intervals in all the chords and it sounds like a juicy musical chorizo, spicy and meaty.
'Vertex' then comes out to shake our hand, their penultimate single release. It begins with an invisible wall of synth, before some growling vocals come to snatch us from our bed cradles. Every single song on this album is incredible, Super Ghost never do wrong. And here you really feel it with the guitar howls and the bursting rhythm.
Taking us home, we get their preceding single, 'Waiting List.' This song starts with a burial by bass-string, and chases an anxious dragon. Always searching, trying to claw back, this song gives no quarter and pushes us further and further below the surface. The Golden Goldie Boys have really given us some incredible lyrical content, not usually seen on a debut. These guys sound like masters of their craft already, like wizards strapped to guitars for six-thousand years with quill pens for fingers. The song ends with an uneasy chord, with unresolved tension lurching in the pits of our stomachs. An ellipses and a question mark are all that greet us at the end of our journey, with their themes of liminal spaces and societal isolation deep-seated in our minds and left ambiguous.
All said and done, this phenomenal release can only mean one thing: Super Ghost can only go up from here. They've set the standard high with their debut release, and will continue to evolve and delve deeper. If Left for Dust is a band's first release, what comes next? It can only be good. Get the Ghostie Boys up in your ear grillz and be sure to follow them on social media, so you can be the first to know when they release new things. It was an honour to listen to this one. I can't wait to see them live and get photos for my shrine. Maybe some hair clippings.