Wednesday 15 February 2017

The Death Of Money - Ghost Pains (Album Review)


Release date: February 17th 2017. Label: SuperFi Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Ghost Pains – Tracklisting

1.New Son 07:20
2.Wherever You Are 05:50
3.Outside Emptiness 07:55

4.Hospital Bed 04:56
5.Ghost Pains 06:39
6.Running Through Dreams (feat. Jarboe) 02:39
7.Only Everything 06:41
8.Coda 05:52
9.Trust The Outsiders 05:58


Band Members

Darren Kaskie - Guitar + Vocals
Alex Morgan -Bass
Ian Charles - Drums

Review

Welsh trio The Death Of Money return, having dropped the Her from their name, with their best album yet, the breathtaking Ghost Pains, an album that grows better after each listen. Ghost Pains is a heavy record, not only sonically but more in terms of its spirit and the feelings that the music evokes and the whole experience is a hypnotic and harrowing but extremely rewarding trip through the bands music.

The album gets off to a crushing start from the very first notes of opening song New Son and the sheer power of the music of The Death Of Money takes hold of you immediately and doesn't let go until the last wail of feedback on closing track Trust The a outsiders ring out. There are elements of each song that let you catch your breath that are necessary before the hypnotic power of the music grabs you by the throat again and passes you through an emotional wringer, it is that powerful.

The repetition of mantras works in the bands favour throughout the record, encasing you in a sense of familiarity but there are always surprises lurking that take a hold you when you are least expecting it. There is a calmness on the album too but it is a foreboding calm that works in tandem with that element of surprise and this is the true beauty of Ghost Pains.

Songs such as Hospital Bed and the albums title track are beautifully realised songs and show a different kind of heaviness, a trait that is littered throughout the album.

The music on here is a soul crushing morphing of the sheer power of Neurosis with the stealthy overwhelming power of My Bloody Valentine, and if it sounds this good on record then it can only sound even better in a live environment. That Neurot connection is cemented by the appearance of Neurosis collaborator and Swans chanteuse Jarboe on the triumphant Running Through Dreams, a bewitching mix of the bands hazy riffs and the ethereal majesty of Jarboe's voice, one of the greatest voices ever, her vocals soar between being hypnotic and simply beautiful as only she can and although there is a stillness to the track, it is heavy on a way that most bands cannot comprehend.

By the time the album reaches its climax with the mighty closing trio of the vast loneliness of Only Everything, the caustic vibe of Coda and perfect album closer, the painfully joyful Trust The Outsiders, the bands vision has been truly realised. Ghost Pains is an all encompassing triumph of an album and one that The Death Of Money should be truly proud of. This is the sound of the bands ethos fully realised, Painful, heartbreaking but uplifting too. A simply stunning record.

Words by Gavin Brown

Ghost Pains is available to buy on DD/Vinyl via SuperFi Records from February 17th 2017.

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