‘Lover’s Requiem‘ was one of the first albums I reviewed for Punktastic back in 2006. To be brutally honest, I wasn’t particularly nice about it. Earlier on, I sat down, listened to it again for the first time since I reviewed it, just to see if my opinion had changed. It hadn’t.
Fortunately, ‘Those We Leave Behind’, sounds like something altogether different. As it should though. Whether or not the album title is a reference to the mass exodus of band members since the last release is open for debate, but the fact remains this: I Am Ghost are a completely different band now, with ‘Those We leave Behind’ being sonic proof.
The main problem I found with ‘Lover’s Requiem‘, was that it seemed too ambitious, and it ended up sounding pretty cheesy. With the new record, there’s still a sense of theatre there, but it never becomes too much to handle. The result, as the likes of ‘Don’t Wake Up’ and ‘So, I guess this is goodbye’ are a testament to this, resulting in well-balanced, well thought out rock songs.
I really enjoy this album. In ‘Those We leave Behind’ and Smile of a Jesus Freak’, the band sound like an Americanised Bullet For My Valentine, while other tracks like ‘Buried Way Too Shallow’ and ‘Saddest Story Never Told’ have more of a pop-punk feel to them. It incorporates elements of some of my favour genres to produce something altogether bloody good.
I’m willing to give I Am Ghost Another go. ‘Those We Leave Behind’ is extremely enjoyable, and with the new line-up the band have discovered a winning formula.
I Am Ghost V2.0 is here.
Andy R