Published by Alessandro Violante on October 8, 2016
The collapse of men, due to two World Wars which strongly damaged their world, but also the collapse in music of “unwritten post punk rules”. European Ghost is the ghost of the decline of Europe, of what remained of itself. It is, above all, the human being victim of damaging useless wars. What remains is a wandering ghost with a covered face, that sings about his condition accompanied by a definitely negative mood.
The music contained in Pale and sick, an experiment born by Giuseppe Taibi (already active with Two Moons), Cristiano Biondo and Mario “Dada” D’Anielli (already active with Black Veils), is a smart melting-pot made of post punk, wave, goth rock and post-industrial, and this cauldron, in which their ingredients are wisely balanced, gives life to an album which astonish us with the variety of styles and variations, as well as for the previously mentioned concept album facing the drama, focusing not on historical facts, but on people. It’s also thanks to a rather updated and unusual approach, freed from strict genre rules, that Unknown Pleasures Records (a label well known by the lovers of this kind of music) became interested in their music.
This collapse of music rules can be fully recognized in the opener Trip on Mars. Travelling towards unknown places seems to be the only way to escape from reality, and the rhythm deconstructs the classic post punk beat progressively transforming it in a mid tempo which sounds are more influenced by post-industrial than by post punk, with an almost EBM-like quality. This first song defines one of the two main souls of the album; on the one hand, songs such as Sex in Kepler, Trip in the night and the final song, titled as the band name, as well as the already mentioned Trip on Mars, try to find new ways to express the post punk formula, while on the other hand songs such as the title track and Preset are straighter and linked to the rules of the genre. Lynch-inspired Lost highway is almost surreal with its austere gothic organs, while Pale and sick is heavy and fast, progressively increasing its heaviness, sounding more “industrial”, and Unreal space is a cold Léger mechanical ballet having a wave approach, in which this meeting of genres sounds rather good.
Fans searching for a more classical imprint will appreciate Preset and The spiral, while those searching for a more experimental approach will like the already mentioned Sex in Kepler, Trip in the night and the industrial-sounding and fast European ghost. Undoubtedly, the most out-of-bounds song is Sex in Kepler, opening in the end to guitar riffing and to vocals breaking the tribal and syncopated atmosphere of the song. Trip in the night is another kind of number as well, distant from the classic rhythmic four-on-the-floor and highlighting the eclecticism of the trio, while the final track European ghost closes the album with raw and powerful sounds. An album characterized by multiple approaches, interesting for its expressive ability.
Crossed by an impetus of uncertainty, the ghost of postmodern human being whose certainties were destroyed by two useless wars, manifests itself through a sound that is post punk, but more incisive, colder, darker and heavier, closer to post-industrial. European Ghost are one of the most interesting and resourceful projects of the current year, and surely worthy of being listened more than once.
Rating: 8, 5
Label: Unknown Pleasures Records