| CD REVIEW Cherry Ghost |
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Band : Cherry Ghost Originally the Bolton (England) based band Cherry Ghost was the alias for a solo project by singer/ guitarist Simon Aldred, a condition which was soon altered through the addition of other musicians to the project. There were some early sessions with Doves bassist/ singer Jimi Goodwin, and a special appearance on Late...With Jools Holland (where CG became one of only a handful of bands/ artists to have been invited before even having released any material), and those certainly helped in securing a deal with Heavenly Recordings...who released the band's debut single Mathematics in April 2007 (which made it to #57 in the UK Singles chart, proving that the label's bet on the band was justified). Preceded by single People Help The People two weeks earlier (charted to #27), full-length debut Thirst For Romance came in July, entering the UK Albums chart at #7. In September third single 4 AM was released, this time to gain only a #128 position in the singles charts. The same month the band was nominated for “Best New Act” at the 2007 Q Awards. An EP of live material, recorded earlier in July, was released in November with the title iTunes Festival : Live In London. In early 2008 the band won a Ivor Novello Award in the category “Best Contemporary Song” for their “People Help The People”. The next album would be rather long in the making, as Aldred already announced in March 2008, that the band (current line-up, besides Aldred, of guitarist Jim Rhodes, keyboardist Ben Parsons, bassist Phill Anderson, and drummer Grenville Harrop) had distilled 7 songs from over 50 tunes he'd written during stays in Berlin and Rome. Recordings (in a concerted barn) started in January 2009, and in late December it was announced on the band's MySpace page that the album had been finished, but still awaited mixing. In the UK, Beneath This Burning Shoreline was released about a fortnight earlier than in the rest of Europe, and evidently positive reviews have been coming in from all over the place, specifically getting 4-star ratings from the likes of (Britain's) Q, The Guardian, The Music Fix, Music OMH and The Independent. In spite of that, the album topped at #40 in the UK Albums charts, and first single “Kissing Strangers” (a download only, released a week prior to the album) failed to chart at all (but that may have something to do with the validity of downloads in the – British – charts, I suppose). Although there's of course the possibility that it had some very stiff competition at the time of release, I keep wondering why the album's apparently doing less than the debut. So okay, I didn't actually get to review the debut, and I didn't even check the songs posted off that album at myspace.com/cherryghostband in comparison to the (3 songs posted for your inquisitive needs) on this sophomore album...but what I hear on BTBS is truly attractive and attracting music, ranging from “heavier” songs categorizable into the Indie Rock realm with additional Psychedelic Country influences, to calmer...almost Folky, but foremost with a great Pop feel...tracks, in which still that Psychedelic touch remains in the typical guitar play. Depending on the needs of a particular song, the keyboards will be played either in piano mode, sounding like organ, or emulate the sounds of strings being played. Vocally, Aldred's slightly pining style is so in-sync with the lyrical side of the songs it definitely makes for the icing on the otherwize already delicious proverbial cake! If you happen to be so lucky as to live in England, you can check the band out in live conditions pretty soon, as they'll be playing up and down the place starting late September. Europeans, at least for the time being, will have to make due with the tunes! 89/100 Tony. |