Despite moving out from their home of Leeds to Liverpool, Friday’s Ghost embody the values of the current wave of West Yorkshire rock, with soundalikes This Et Al and Forward Russia clearly singing from a similar hymnsheet. Their frontman’s wayward vocals are delivered in passionate and off-key fashion, whilst glum guitars compete against blasts of electronic noise.
Just like their soundalikes they often struggle under the sheer weight of ideas and genres which can clash rather than complement. None of the four tracks on this EP totally convinces, largely because each song veers off into so many different tangents, yet at certain times the music is great. ‘Work Of The Invisible Hand’ and ‘Ten Rhinos’ certainly fare better when they tone down the layers of sound, the latter featuring some really impressive dark harmonies. The title track is also reminiscent of Bloc Party but with the student-friendly dreaminess replaced with less pretty but still effective Northern grit; this song also has a celebratory feel which should go down well as an encore. Only the discordant opener ‘Cities, Thrones & Basements’ disappoints. Friday’s Ghost do have a lot of good things going for them though, namely invention and passion, now they just need to deliver a little subtlety.
Web Sites:
Further Listening:
This Et Al, Forward Russia, Bloc Party
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