Review: The Ghost Ease’s ‘RAW’ Leaves the Listener Wanting More

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Portland is serving up some interesting post-punk-influenced shoegaze rock these days. RAW by The Ghost Ease is ablaze with repetitive, crunchy guitar licks. While it definitely has some great tracks that deliver up some variation, I found it kind of a slog to make it through this LP, which really should’ve been an EP.

Before you boo me, I know that indie shoegaze is supposed to be repetitive, lo-fi, and have that ‘you’re not supposed to like it, but you really do like it’ kind of thing. Let me explain. “RAW” and “PJM” feel like the exact same track to me. They’re in the same key, the same cadence, the same tones, and similar vocal delivery; the only difference is that “PJM” is faster. The only thing that keeps me listening through the monotonous passages is Jem Marie. Her voice is coquettish, and has an alluring quality, which is wonderful in its own way, but I want some variation from her vocally. I’m convinced she’s underutilizing her voice, or perhaps the songs are below her singing ability. Either way, I want more.

“Neptune Sun” dives into deep purple waves of sound, and is pure feel. It’s moody and would be great for drinking a bottle of wine or some cheap whisky while you scream obscenities to your ex at the ceiling of your apartment. From this track, I have this urge to fast forward through the next ones until “Gemini Rise.” Though, “Pareidolla” has this haphazard tumultuous feeling of hurtling though a desert that does grow on me with each listen.

For me, “Gemini Rise” is the quintessential track on this album. The doubled vocals, the intensity, and the overall tones are a graceful ballet of lo-fi shoegaze goodness. After this, the only two tracks left that I’m into are “For Naught” and “Bye Love.” There’s a whimsical quality to “For Naught” that tickles my inner child, while the closer “Bye Love” is a gorgeous ending with dark piano chords, dirty bass, and hollow echo-y drums. A fitting dreamscape ending.

The Ghost Ease has put out a decent album, and I’m interested to see how much they push themselves for the next release. I think they have a good sound going on, have some good accessibility for themselves to obtaining new listeners, but I just want more.

(RAW can be purchased via the band’s Bandcamp page for $10.00. You can stream the album below if it sounds like it would interest you.)

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