Live: The Ghosts at The End, Birmingham

The Ghosts’ first UK tour came to an end at one of Birmingham’s smaller venues, The End, after their release of their critically acclaimed debut album, titled ‘The End;’ what a suitably fitting turn of fate! The indie-electro-pop five piece performed at one of Birmingham’s more intimate venues to a crowd much smaller than they deserve, although this was somewhat of a homecoming for local Midlands man, Ian Palmer; the drummer of the band.

The Ghosts are made up of Alex Starling, former member of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool and lead vocalist, New York trained jazz drummer Ian Palmer, Canadian Keys and Violin player Rayna Ferner with Dan Whiffin on guitar and Alex Sharman also on keys. Together, they have created atmospheric synth-pop at its very finest. The band was flawless and extremely professional and immensely captivating in their performance.

Alex dedicated one track to Guns and Roses’ Duff McKagan as they’d met him earlier in the day. Alex introduced it by saying “This one’s for Duff … I’ve always wanted to say that” which prompted laughter from the crowd!

There wasn’t one person who couldn’t be seen singing along, dancing or at the very least tapping a foot to the band’s singles, ‘Ghosts’ ‘Enough Time’ and latest single ‘Underrated.’ With Alex’s unique vocals over a driving dance beat and a generous helping of electronics, these brooding synth pop hits could get anyone dancing!

Following such a high quality performance, it’s not hard to imagine The Ghosts playing gigs at much larger venues in the not too distant future. This band are destined for greater success.

Photographs by Jonathan Morgan.

View the published article at Counteract Magazine

The Ghosts | Underrated single review

The third single to be taken from the band’s superb debut album, The End, is Underrated; ironically both by title and status! Indie pop five piece fronted by Alex Starling, former member of Ou Est Le Swimming Pool, have created a masterpiece of synth pop. Underrated’s simple structure along with Alex’s unique vocals over atmospheric tones and the occasional chiming bell, complete with a driving dance beat and a generous helping of electronics is the perfect concoction. I'm under no illusion that you’ll be humming the catchy yet mildly downbeat chorus for days.

The single, co-produced by electro pop experts Andres Kallmark and Tim Bran has an equally captivating accompanying video, produced by Tim Burton collaborator Alex Kyrou. This great piece of black and white cinematography sees a surreal mix-up of worlds between a 1920s style Alex Starling and the rest of the band in modern day. The truly engaging and deeply clever concept video compliments the song well.

After a summer of festivals, including the infamous Chazzstock where they shared a stage with the likes of The Vaccines and The Horrors, the band are back to writing   and their first nationwide tour is set to begin in autumn. Underrated will be available to purchase or download on 15^th October.

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