Daisy House - Languages

There is no shortage of male/female musical duos in Southern California environs right how, but Long Beach’s Daisy House is an anomaly. It features 23-year-old singer Tatiana Hammond in collaboration with fiftysomething singer-songwriter-multi-instrumentalist Doug Hammond, her father. The band, the elder Hammond says, started “as a lark when I hooked up with an old high school friend from the ’70s in 2012. We continue to do this because I’m retarded about music and I want to see how good we can get. … My daughter just keeps me off the streets in the meantime.”
Daisy House has released three full-lengths, a self-titled affair in 2013, “Beaus and Arrows” in 2014 and “Western Man” early this year. They display a jaw-dropping command of classic rock and folk, especially the ’70s vintage, with the Hammonds trading off on vocals, Doug the vaguely weathered but hopeful troubadour and Tatiana the clarion angel from AM radio’s past. You’re not likely to find too many bands these days citing Fairport Convention as a major influence — much less know the nuances between British and American folk (they do both) — and Tatiana is likely the rare twentysomething who might have Sandy Denny, Joni Mitchell and Karen Dalton in her singers’ pantheon rather than any of today’s stars.
“Say Goodbye,” “Golden Heart” and “Twenty-one” from the latest album are exemplary of the younger Hammond’s effortless splendor; “Twilight in the Palace of Reason” finds world-weary Mr. Hammond tackling tangled emotions in the wake of the November 2015 terror attacks in Paris (and referencing Mr. Lennon, to boot): “You can ‘imagine there’s no countries’ / but they still won’t let you in,” he sings.
In September, Daisy House released the new single “Languages,” an ’80s/’90s-styled rocker recalling the harder-edged music of Aimee Mann. It’s the first song they’ve released that Doug Hammond didn’t write; it was co-written by Paul Gagliardi and Mark Lewis of the local band Omagaro Miguel. It will appear on Daisy House’s forthcoming fourth album “Crossroads,” but considering national events, the duo decided “the time for the song was now.” Agreed.  From: https://buzzbands.la/2016/11/23/ears-wide-open-daisy-house/

Genesis - Ripples

I’ve completed the Genesis Mark 1.5 three album catalogue with a purchase of Trick of the Tail. I have to say on only the first or second listening I can tell this is going to be pushing for my favourite Genesis album of all (currently The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway). It’s got it all and frankly I’m amazed to be hearing me say that after I first pondered the merits (or otherwise) of post Gabriel Genesis. I was clearly making unfounded assumptions without researching the facts. Sorry readers. The mix is tremendous (I don’t know if this is the result of the remaster — this is the 1994 edition) — clear, sharp and powerful. The bass is really deep, the guitar thick, and Collin’s vocals are a revelation. Apparently it was his rendition of Squonk that convinced the rest of the band he could step out from behind the drum kit and into Gabriel’s mighty shoes. I wonder what Gabriel must have made of this record when he first heard it. Do you think he was delighted for them, or was there a feeling of regret?

“The whole concept of The Lamb was darker, longer, and it was a real uphill battle to finish. That’s why A Trick of the Tail was easier to make. It was lighter, Phil was singing, and we had a whole new scenario with a breath of fresh air.” -Tony Banks

Unlike some of the earlier albums there are no instrumental fillers where a member of this group of egos are granted a solo piece which ill fits the whole concept. For example Hackett’s poor Bach imitation Horizons from Foxtrot, {Ed. Can you say that a bit quieter?} This is perhaps unfair on Hackett, probably the most modest member of the band. As the late joining guitarist it seems that his playing was generally so side-lined by the overwhelming keyboards of the dominant Tony Banks that he was merely and reluctantly granted the odd instrumental instead.

“I was getting tired of bringing ideas into the group, which I felt they weren’t going to do.” -Steve Hackett

Furthermore Banks has been at pains to recall that it was himself who wrote and played the guitar introduction to Supper’s Ready suggesting further that Hackett’s input was not that crucial. That series of Genesis album reissue interviews on youtube is so revealing. Fans would disagree and many argue the Genesis sound suffered more after the departure of Hackett than it did even with Gabriel. This sort of behaviour represented the worse excesses of prog rock when it became more important to demonstrate the technical skill of each musician rather than create great music itself. It’s almost as if the musicians have to demonstrate that although they are playing rock and pop music they are very serious musicians and were actually originally classically trained. The trouble is the real classical musicians see (or hear) through this. Yes were also most guilty of this where many of their albums have a solo Steve Howe or Rick Wakeman piece shoehorned in amongst the prog epics. More kudos to Robert Fripp (a guitarist to whom Hackett is sometimes compared) — a classical guitarist originally who said that hearing one chord of Jimi Hendrix meant more to him than the entire classical repertoire. He also says Wimborne in Dorset is the centre of the universe. Anyway, pleasingly it’s not such an issue on A Trick of the Tail where a balance and equilibrium between the individual musicians and the overall music is achieved throughout the album.

From: https://medium.com/6-album-sunday/genesis-a-trick-of-the-tail-8a3deec2a3c1

Birdeatsbaby - Painkiller

Normally in The Music Spotlight, I’ll pick five songs that I think are the perfect entry-level for anyone interested in exploring whichever artist or band I’ve chosen to focus on that week and then give you links to the videos on YouTube, along with my opinion on what makes these tunes so special. It’s a simple formula and one that I like, but today’s column is going to be different. Last week I was lucky enough to sit down and have a chat with Mishkin Fitzgerald. She’s the vocalist, lyricist, pianist, and all-around driving force behind one of the most underrated bands in existence today, Birdeatsbaby. She’s also a very complex person with some very interesting, and very dark, stories to tell.

Who are Birdeatsbaby?

Mishkin Fitzgerald: Birdeatsbaby has been going since 2009 (officially) but 2006 was actually our first gig. The name comes from a long bout of insomnia I had in my teens—I was on a lot of sleep medication and having strange and lucid nightmares. The first record was born out of this.

Neil Gray: So you had a dream where a bird ate a baby I take it?

MF: Kind of. I always used to see this bird-like creature on the ceiling; it was pretty creepy.

NG: Yeah, I bet it was. But from this nightmare, one of the best bands from the Dark Cabaret era was born. Did you mind being put into that niche when it happened? You’ve obviously grown from that point but that was where I found you at the time.

MF: No, we didn’t mind. It was nice to find a genre that could describe what we were doing and we ran with it, it gained us our first fanbase and we were able to find other artists to tour with through this. Yes, we’ve changed a lot but we don’t forget our roots and sometimes the cabaret sound pops up again in newer sounds, just for a moment and it’s a nod to the old sound.

NG: As you’re my guest this week, let’s start with one of your choices. “Mary”. To me, and please correct me if I’m wrong, but “Mary” strikes me as the ultimate middle finger towards organized religion.

MF: Yeah [laughs]. Well, I guess it’s not the ultimate middle finger, but it does point towards the Catholic Church. I chose the Hail Mary because it’s supposed to be a prayer towards the feminine symbol of God, the mother of God, etc., but it’s just a joke because the Catholic Church has repeatedly used its power to oppress and control women and their bodies. So I turned the Hail Mary into a poem about how the church uses a male figure to press down on women and keep them in place. Recently the Catholic Church in South America has been arresting women who miscarried or had life-saving abortions as a crime against God. Women were waking up on hospital beds in handcuffs. I get very angry about religion because I think it’s caused so much unnecessary damage to the world, avoided scientific evidence, and in this day and age people are still using it to control each other. It’s just bollocks.

NG: I totally agree with you here, it’s always struck me as weird that a male virgin in white robes has so much power over the lives and actions of millions of people worldwide and we’re all just supposed to go with it and be “Oh, him yeah, that’s cool”. The problem with religion, as expressed so well in this song, is that it makes you blind to reality.

MF: Yeah, it’s just so sad. The world would be a better place if religion could only move with the times and accept science, instead of always wanting to keep people in the dark. I’m not against religion if it helps people and they’re getting something positive out of it, but the minute it contradicts what we know to be fact in a damaging way then it should be put down. It just baffles me that most of the population still believe in a floaty-sky-man who sends you to hell if you’re naughty.

NG: On the subject of the video to Mary, shot in an actual church or?

MF: Yeah.

NG: Really? How did you manage to swing that?

MF: The pastor was very kind to let us use the space—I don’t think he knew much about the song though [laughs]. One of my student’s parents helps out there. It was funny cos he was like “Okay, I’ll leave you to it then”. Then when he came back I was dressed as a vicar with black eye contacts and my manager was like, “Hide! I’ll distract him!” and just talked his ear off while we continued the shoot. It was a fun day.

NG: Next up, I want to talk about my first choice, “The Trouble”. This was the song that clued me into Birdeatsbaby and it’s true that you can never forget your first love. To me, even to this day, it stands the test of time, but the subject matter is something I’ve always been curious about. It strikes me as almost Bowie-esque in the way the lyrics are written, not really saying anything, cut up to a degree, but at the same time getting across a feeling that people can relate to, rather than a message. Was this intentional?

MF: It’s a pretty dark subject matter. You might want to brace yourself [laughs]. When I was 19 I was assaulted by ex-boyfriend at a house party in Brighton. The experience was fairly traumatic and shaped my 20s. I can’t even walk past that place in Brighton without still feeling a sense of panic. The guy then moved in down my street, just a stone’s throw away from my house, that’s when I wrote, “Through Ten Walls”. Many of my songs are based around experience, I couldn’t help but use it at a subject matter as that kind of trauma can consume you and if you don’t get it out, then it can destroy you.

NG: I kind of feel bad for liking the song so much now.

MF: Don’t feel bad! I fuckin’ love that song! I was able to turn it into something that changed other people’s lives; otherwise, it would’ve killed me.

NG: That is a subject that seems to appear throughout your work, and as a failed poet I understand how cathartic that expressing your emotions through words can be, which leads me onto the next video “My Arms Will Open Wide”. Is this as cut and dried as it seems? Is it your goodbye to the world? Thankfully, you haven’t but was it that note?

MF: Yeah, I wrote that song as a suicide letter. I had really given up on my music, it felt like it was going nowhere and what was the point, I was really ill and had completely lost my faith which was a good thing, but at the time it felt very empty without it. When we made the video I was standing on the bridge and I was like, fuck, I really don’t want to fall. It was a good feeling to not want to die. It turns out I had more albums to write and a lot more music to give the world. Yeah, as long as I can write it, I’ll stick around. That’s my favorite video though. I’ve never felt a video could sum up my words so clearly, I was really happy with it and the shoes were nice too [laughs]. You can see them in “Tenterhooks” too.

NG: I have a story about this tune. In a previous life I used to work as a chef for a rather large chain of “If we can cook it, you can eat it” type business. Now, I used to take music in with me to get me through the grind of the day and one of the myriads of songs on the cd’s, yes they had a cd player, was “Deathbed Confession”. Thanks to Forbes production on that I used to get a bollocking every time I played it as it was so much louder than anything else I’d play. To the point, they’d have to send someone in from the front of house to ask me to turn it down because it was annoying the customers as they tried to listen to Frank Sinatra.

MF: [laughs] Brilliant! You make us proud.

NG: I love this song, with a passion and feel that it’s the perfect example of how you grew from that band I first heard in “The Trouble” into one of the most ass-kicking rock acts of all time.

MF: It’s actually a really old BEB song too. I wrote it in 2010, and it was just too heavy to go on the early stuff, so I kept it until the time was right. Forbes was definitely the right drummer for that album.

NG: So what finally brought it to the light?

MF: The line-up was perfect and we had freedom in the studio for the first time, plus Garry was playing more guitars which were what it needed too.

NG: That is very true. Garry’s guitar work on that song is sensational. The pure noise that he wrings from each note is something I hadn’t heard in a long time, not since my days of listening to the likes of Sonic Youth and The Pixies and the way that Forbes assaults the skins would get him arrested in 90% of countries. And when you add in your vocals, which are on point, and Hana, well, just being Hana, which is always a good thing, then there isn’t a bad note in the entire thing. There seems to be an underlying thought in your lyrics as well, is this another pretty fucking awful relationship one as well?

MF: No that’s not about anyone, it’s about politics, human nature and probably religion again too but this time how it’s used as a reason to go to war.

NG: Ah, so I’ve been approaching the song from the wrong angle all this time, at least from a lyrical standpoint, musically it’s the fucking boss.

MF: [laughs] Cool, thank you.

NG: I can understand why The Flock loves this video so much, the song is just downright nasty and is driven by the kind of groove that wouldn’t be out of place in an Iggy and The Stooges record.

MF: Yeah it’s hard not to like, we were listening to a lot of QOTSA that record and I had the chorus in my head while we were touring Europe, going around and around—Hana was helping me write the lyrics. It was very fun—the band grew a lot over that record.

NG: So, as I’m a sucker for your lyrics, it’s interesting to me to hear that this was a collaborative effort between you and Miss Piranha.

MF: She’s really good at lyrics, better than me. I take forever to write one line and it usually makes little sense. Hana is amazing at creating a picture and constantly referencing it again and again in new ways, the Heiress project we’re doing together now is her brilliant lyrics. I’m better at chord progressions and structure and she’s great at melodies and lyrics—we make a good team.

NG: As for the video, it seems to keep the simplicity of the song, except for your face paint. What inspired that?

MF: I think I wanted to make myself look truly evil [laughs]—the make-up was necessary to remove myself from the fragile/vulnerable Mishkin and become something empowering and seductive. I really wanted to grow as a person through that song and music video and it was definitely a turning point for me. I remember feeling like it was a risk—I mean you do open yourself up to people’s nonsense when you choose to express yourself as a sexual person, especially as a woman, but at the same time I always follow the Birdeatsbaby rule—“do what you want”. We used to announce the song on stage by saying “a good song should make you want to fight someone, fuck someone or kill yourself”. I stand by that—I don’t think there’s a single BEB song that doesn’t apply to. Also, it was a bit of fun. Being “naughty” is always so appealing and that video is just utter filth. The afterparty was… legendary.

It is very rare in this line of work that you meet someone so open and willing to discuss the demons that have driven their creative process. Normally, artists will skirt around the issue, which is understandable, as no-one wants to relive their traumatic past any longer than they have to. Mishkin Fitzgerald is not that kind of person. She is a raw nerve exposed to the elements, a musician and lyricist who has had to fight against some truly horrific experiences just so her art can see the light of day. But what she isn’t, is a victim. She has taken what life has thrown at her and turned it into some of the most powerful, beautiful, and sometimes downright nasty music you’ll ever hear. There have been close calls along the way, which she has openly admitted, but as she said; I love growing up, I feel more like the person I want to be with every year, hitting 30 was like realising who I am and making the big changes I needed to.” Even if I hadn’t had a chance to sit down and talk with her, I would’ve recommended Birdeatsbaby to you and anyone else who would listen, just because I love the band that much, but having spent a couple of hours in her company and getting just a small taste of how passionate she is about her craft, then I cannot think of a single reason that Birdeatsbaby doesn’t find their way into your playlist. Music should touch you, lyrics should speak to you and in Birdeatsbaby you have the perfect combination of both.

From: https://tvobsessive.com/2020/01/28/the-music-spotlight-birdeatsbaby/

The Hanging Stars - (I've Seen) The Summer in Her Eyes

An unexpected development: it turns out that both of my early 2024 country-adjacent favorite records come from England. These standouts achieve their success in different ways, though - Brown Horse’s Reservoir focuses on gritty bar band country-rock, while The Hanging Stars’ opt for a much lighter and airier approach. Said approach isn’t a major transformation for this London band. They’ve been in the “Cosmic Americana” lane for a while, with my first experience with them being the 2022 effort Hollow Heart, an effortlessly pleasant listen with solid replay value, even if the songs themselves didn’t particularly stand out as memorable. With follow-up On a Golden Shore, the group doesn’t drift far away from familiar territory, but their execution is flawless enough to consider the latest result a notable step up.
For those readers still wondering what The Hanging Stars sound like, it seems evident that the band have been wearing out their Gram Parsons records, alongside albums like The Byrds’ Sweetheart of the Rodeo, The Grateful Dead’s American Beauty, and The Jayhawks’ Tomorrow the Green Grass, with those kind of earthy yet transcendently beautiful influences felt in abundance on this release. The Hanging Stars have melded that sound with a couple styles more clearly associated with their homeland - a bevy of psychedelic touches and a hint of jangle pop, in particular. There’s definitely a Beatlesque tinge in places (particularly clear on “Happiness is a Bird”, and not solely because the track’s title sounds like a “Happiness is a Warm Gun”/”And Your Bird Can Sing” mashup). In addition, fans of fellow Englishman Honey Harper will probably find a lot to like here, with echoes of Starmaker’s shimmery melancholy clearly present.
The eleven songs collected in On a Golden Shore are easy-going and full of warmth, absolute ear candy from start to finish. The music is blissful, remaining ethereal while also possessing abundant pop sensibility. The biggest improvement here for The Hanging Stars is that the melodies are richer this time around, playing a key role in revealing some vital highlight tracks - “Sweet Light” is a total earworm, and “Disbelieving” is one of the most gorgeous country-ish jams I’ve heard in a while. Meanwhile, closer “Heart in a Box” is so subdued as to approach ambient, feeling like a sunset dream and leaving the listener to bask in the fading glow.
Lyrically, On a Golden Shore tends to hew towards heartbroken tales of woe, fitting for the genre tradition, but nonetheless this album remains an absolute joy to listen to. It might be a classic case of a band doing the simple things right and leaning upon a near-perfect fusion of sound and vibe, but if you understand the basic purpose of music as being about playing tunes which sound great and make the listener feel things, well, then, The Hanging Stars seem to have it all figured out. If you’re looking for me, I’ll be across the pond, rollin’ down that lost highway.  From: https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/88310/The-Hanging-Stars-On-A-Golden-Shore/

New Riders of the Purple Sage - Dirty Business

In the summer of 1969, John Dawson was looking to showcase his songs while Jerry Garcia  was looking to practice his brand new pedal steel guitar. The two played in coffeehouses and small clubs initially, and the music they made became the nucleus for a band—the New Riders of the Purple Sage. That same year, David Nelson, expert in both country and rock guitar, joined the group on electric lead guitar. Filling out the rhythm section in those early days were Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and engineer Bob Matthews on bass, who was later replaced by Phil Lesh. In 1970, Dave Torbert took over on bass and the New Riders played every chance they got. Soon enough, smoky clubs all over the San Francisco bay area were filling up with whooping, foot-stomping crowds as their music got tighter and more dynamic. They began to tour extensively with the Dead, and in December of 1970, Spencer Dryden, who had previously showed his impeccable drumming style with the Jefferson Airplane, had stepped in on drums.
One of the many gigs with the Dead included the Trans-Canadian Festival Express with Janis Joplin, The Band, and other American and Canadian artists like Ian and Sylvia, who had with them a brilliant, innovative pedal steel player named Buddy Cage. When Garcia’s busy schedule made it increasingly difficult for him to play with the New Riders, the talented Cage was the perfect choice to fill the pedal steel spot. He moved from Toronto where he had been working in Anne Murray’s band, to California in the spring of 1971 to join the New Riders. With the addition of Cage, the New Riders emerged as a fully independent unit. An excitingly creative band with a special brand of music—sweet country harmonies mixed with pulsing rock rhythms.
The New Riders were signed to Columbia Records in 1971 by Clive Davis and their eponymous first album, New Riders of the Purple Sage, was released in September of that year to widespread acclaim. In December, 1971 they played a live radio broadcast with the Dead over WNEW-FM in New York to an audience of millions. In 1972 the pattern of their success continued to grow, with their first European tour followed in June by the release of their second album, Powerglide. They toured the United States extensively in response to increasing demand, and in November, 1972 released their third album Gypsy Cowboy.
In May of 1973, the New Riders appeared on ABC-TV’s “In Concert” program to a nationwide audience. Working hard on the road for much of the year, including gigs with the Dead at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco and R.F.K. Stadium in Washington, DC, they took a brief time out to go into the Record Plant in Sausalito with producer Norbert Putnam. The result was The Adventures of Panama Red, released in September of 1973 and with Peter Rowan’s title track, this became an FM radio staple and the first gold record for the band. In November they embarked on an east coast tour that included them setting the box office record at New York City’s Academy of Music. This tour was recorded for the group’s first live album, Home, Home on the Road, which was produced by Jerry Garcia.
Early 1974 found bassist Dave Torbert wanting to pursue a more rock and roll direction as he left the New Riders to form Kingfish with old friends Matthew Kelly and Bob Weir. Skip Battin, formerly with the Byrds, joined the band on bass as they kept to their solid touring schedule which had become one of the band’s trademarks. In August, 1974, the New Riders gave a free thank you concert in Central Park on a Tuesday afternoon to 50,000 New York fans. Their sixth album, entitled Brujo, was released in October, 1974 and found their recorded sound getting crisper with delicate harmonies and more original songs.
Searching for expanded musical horizons, the New Riders hooked up with producer Bob Johnston, known for his work with Bob Dylan, in 1975. Letting Johnston take them down uncharted terrain, the resulting Oh, What A Mighty Time found the band hooking up with Sly Stone and a bevy of female background singers. Mighty Time also features Jerry Garcia’s electric guitar leads on “Take A Letter Maria.” Just about this time, the music business was entering another era and the New Riders ended their relationship with Columbia Records. The subsequent release of the Best of the New Riders of the Purple Sage, with its infamous cover, fulfilled their obligation to Columbia and the band then signed with MCA Records in 1976.  From: https://thenewriders.com/bio/history/

The Wyld Olde Souls - Ferris Wheel

Ensoulment, the first full length CD by the Wyld Olde Souls, serves up an intoxicating mix of psychedelic folk spiced with both Indian music and medieval love songs. The band consists of Ivy Vale (on seductive mahogany-rich vocals, guitar, and hand percussion), Rick Reil (vocals, bouzouki, and guitars), Melissa Davis (vocals, hand percussion), Kristin Pinell Reil (vocals, flute, guitar, mandolin), and Naren Budhakar (tablas). Both Reils are also long time members of legendary power pop band The Grip Weeds. Budhakar studied with tabla maestro Samir Chatterjee and has performed with a number of eastern and western artists.
The 14-song CD release has been widely praised -- "It's good to see that someone is still exploring folk and psychedelia and doing it so well" (Tom Rapp, founder of legendary '60s band Pearls Before Swine); "haunting ethereal mystical folk music led by female chant-song as atmospheric as a moth caught under a flickering gaslight on a stormy night and simply resonating with psychedelic Celtic harmony" (The Ptolemaic Terrascope); "... their use of folk and rock instruments can't be denied, but that's where the typical is left behind. It's left far in the background as you're lifted into a wonderful realm of the ethereal, the music and sincere Pagan lyrics opening up vistas of ancient sunlight, woodlands and calming nature... a rich serenade of transcendence" (Chaos Realm).
The Wyld Olde Souls were recently nominated by The Indie Music Channel for Best Folk Group, and have also been nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award for their live video of Led Zeppelin classic "Gallows Pole." The Hollywood Music in Media Awards take place in November -- now in its fifth year, heralding the start of awards season. The band has also released a new video for the album's first single "Leave Her" which, like the song itself, takes one on a magical journey in a verdant green forest setting with dappled sunlight. Dreamy, trippy, with a lyrical guitar solo, lush orchestral arrangements and Vale's stunning alto, "Leave Her" begins where Lee Hazlewood's "Some Velvet Morning" left off.  From: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/the-wyld-olde-souls_b_1868748

Gingerpig - Undefined Call

The title of the new Gingerpig album, Ghost On The Highway, wasn’t chosen randomly. It is a reference to the musical journey of Gingerpig, to the passion and the urge that has pushed them forward to three albums now. Founder and frontman of Gingerpig, Boudewijn Bonebakker, is clear about it: ”Music is my way to stay ahead of my personal ghost on the highway.” Ghost On The Highway is not just the result of years of perfecting the sound of Gingerpig. That sound is not the goal for Gingerpig, it’s the vehicle with which the story is being told. More than anything else it is the almost haunted intensity and conviction behind the songs that impresses and pulls you in. Five years ago Gingerpig’s journey started with the preparations for their first album. The grand experiment The Ways of the Gingerpig was built on the conviction that the listener can’t be fooled. Bonebakker and his associates opened up their suitcases and started off with lots of musical luggage and even more ideas and with their first they delivered a loving mix of seventies rock, blues, fusion and (post-) metal. The band had set just one single limit for themselves: making music. During the course of their search and their wanderings, the musical focus of Gingerpig sharpened. The identity and style of the band ripened fast and the eclectic character of their music matured. This culminated on the album Hidden from View, on which the organic sound and the sincere approach came more to the forefront. This development has continued on Ghost on the Highway but clearly the boys haven’t found their calm yet. Sure, Gingerpig sounds more weathered, more intense and louder than ever, a very distinct and recognisable loud that works in clear unity with the lyrical content, but the restlessness stays. Haunted, mean & lean by their musical travels, Gingerpig dispose most of their garnish and fringe on Ghost on the Highway and deliver not only musically but also lyrically a surprising resolute and thunderous rock album.  From: http://www.mig-music.de/en/releases/gingerpig-4/