Review: Celestial Shore - Enter Ghost
By Bailey Kretz, Staff Writer
[Cutters; 2014]
Rating: 6/10
Key Tracks: "Gloria," "Same Old Cult Story"
Brooklyn native Celestial Shore has traded in its jangly indie math-rock style for a more focused and straightforward sound on its sophomore release, Enter Ghost. Not only are the time signature changes less drastic than on last year’s 10x, but the vocals are cleaner and more audible this time around. The band’s change in approach has led to a less sporadic yet still interesting album.
Every track on Enter Ghost has a very different feel, giving listeners a chance to find their own personal favorite tracks on the album. For example, “Weekender” serves as a straightforward indie rock track that suddenly morphs into a dreamy psych-folk track. Guitarist and vocalist Sam Owens takes on a sound reminiscent of Jacco Gardner, which works wonderfully for the band in creating an entirely different half of the song.
“Gloria” is a mega-catchy track that it easily accessible, yet still structurally interesting. 10x is a bouncy album, constantly changing styles and pace, but the album has the flaw of switching sections just as the listener became attached. Enter Ghost, on the other hand, trades in frequent tempo changes and opts for a more selective experimentation.
The band manages to keep its wacky math-rock apparent but toned down to a minimum. “Same Old Cult Story” proves this, featuring a guitar part that seems to have one note deliberately out of tune. Something seems off, yet is still strangely catchy. Little quirks like this are what Celestial Shore uses to set its music apart from other uncomplicated indie-rock bands.
Some tracks, however, are a big setback for the band in terms of originality. Take, for instance, the opening track, “Creation Myth.” The song immediately starts off in your face with loud guitars and fast drums. The track is a lot of everything all at once. It feels quite forced and progressively gets more and more chaotic. The chaos feels unnatural though, almost as if Celestial Shore is using it to create some form of uniqueness in its sound.
“Shell Shocked” suffers a similar fate. The band attempts to toughen up its laidback sound that was prominent on 10x, but the result is a forced track that doesn’t fit with the rest of the album’s feel. The song feels out of place with the band’s new style and approach.
Enter Ghost is an attempt at polishing a sound and weeding through what does and doesn’t work. 10x was a catchy, bouncy album with a carefree vibe. The album was ever shifting and created a variety of moods in each song. Enter Ghost instead concentrates the band’s experimentation, presenting a more frank song structure. Celestial Shore certainly sounds more accessible and polished, but in the end, ultimately traded in some of its originality. While 10x was unlike any other album that year, Enter Ghost stands as a solid album, but one that will certainly get lost in the mix.
