Genre/Influences: Gothic, ritual-goth, cold-wave.
Background/Info: Originally set up as a solo-project by David Strong and joined after a few years by vocalist Lisa Wood, Ghost Painted Sky has released a few number of EP’s and are now unleashing their debut full length album.
Content: The work takes off with bombastic gothic music joined by some ritual elements on top. The bombast is one of the album’s characteristics, but quite progressively the duo also reveals moodier- and even melancholic cuts. The work also features a cover version of New Order’s “Doubts Even Here”, which brings us back to the 80s.
+ + + : I especially like the bombast running through the opening songs and especially “Liminal”, which is joined by a kind of ritual voices. The band is clearly inspired by 80s cold-wave, which mainly comes through in the mewing guitar play. The song “Sick” is a quite cool track illustrating this retro-approach. Lisa Wood injects a cool emotional input in a few tracks.
– – – : I’m mainly missing clear transitions from the verses into the choruses. That’s probably one of the reasons there’s no truly climax in the songs.
Conclusion: This work is an easy listening moment, but without real highlights. I’m sure Ghost Painted Sky can do much better!
Best songs: “In The Grey Light Of Dawn”, “Your Scars On Mine”.
Rate: (6).
Artist: www.ghostpaintedsky.com / www.facebook.com/ghostpaintedskyLabel: https://restlessgrey.weebly.com / www.facebook.com/restlessgrey
About Ghost Painted Sky
Ghost Painted Sky is based in New England, where Lisa Wood joined founder David Strong’s solo recording project in 2017. The duo’s debut full-length, “Ghost Painted Sky,” followed in 2018, with “Flightless” arriving later the same year via Restless Grey. Ghost Painted Sky went on to release the “Ephemeral Wake” EP in 2021, the albums “Corridors” and “The Fire, The Flame” in 2022, and “Futility Blossoms” in 2024.
Support Side-Line
More people read Side-Line than ever, and there is still no paywall and no advertising. Readers pay for it instead - from $5 a month.
Advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news organisations we have not put up a paywall, and we refuse to add annoying advertising, so we need to ask for your help. Side-Line’s independent journalism takes time, money and hard work to produce, and we do it to push the artists we like, who are equally fighting to survive.
I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.
