We wrote about the duo We Have Ghosts and their debut EP a few months back. Roughly three months since they completed and released EP1 the band quickly completed its successor EP2. Originating from New Jersey, and leaving their home of two years, Champaign-Urbana, IL, the new Philadelphians more or less picked up from where they last left off. Keeping pace with the emotional unfurling that took place in its predecessor, EP2 serves as a refinement of those unbound feelings with albeit, a brighter tone.
Like the ocean’s breeze commencing a sailboat’s voyage, the spacious cadence of “Summer” is the cast off for the terse but emotional EP. A mix of bellows and moans, the track is filled with the mugginess that saturates the air before a storm. Like with EP1, Puglisi’s lyrics deal with crumbling relationships (which aren’t just limited to the “romantic” ones) and moving on. Picking up with sonic intensity, Puglisi’s soul-sapped delivery gradually merges with a torrent of flailing guitars.
“Chicago Girl” is a wispy track that deviates from the duo’s customary post-punk. With an offsetting syncopation created by breathy refrains and backing vocals, Puglisi reminisces of an elusive mid-western gal whom left a lasting impression on him. Skirting with lingering guitars that’s in search of any kind of end, there’s a subtle tension that never fades on the doom-y “Close”. An emotional brew of post-rock and post-punk, this track could be an emblematic sound for the band. The tense build up is periodically broken up by abrupt palm mutes and an eloquent monsoon of distortion.
The duo’s most aggressive showing yet, in its closing moments, the EP kicks into overdrive for it’s closer “A Horse, A Horse!”. Zipping with angular ferocity, the duo work in their bolder influences for the final hurrah. A song about losing confidence and overtaken by social anxieties, Puglisi sings about slipping into reclusiveness and avoiding conversation to prevent any bouts of awkwardness (“a safety net around my neck!”).
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