Recommended Tracks: Nosedive, Ampersands, Five Minute Drive
Artists You May Like: Sleep On It, With Confidence, Real Friends
There are countless topics that will always make for great songs – relationship issues, heartbreak, self-doubt…These topics work because they are multi-faceted, and are things that we all experience. Set them to music with driving rhythms, catchy riffs, and jaded vocals and you have your next alt-rock jam! Turn that alt-rock jam into eleven, and you have Sorry Ghost’s debut album, The Morning After.
When you listen to The Morning After, you can create your own narrative through its songs. The focus is on relationships, and all of the feelings that come to the surface once they come to an end. The opening track, “Bumper Cars,” introduces us to some of the feelings, and compares the break-up’s aftermath to a tense round of bumper cars. The plot thickens on “Condescending,” when we hear about a failed attempt at reconciliation. You almost expect these tracks to sound angrier, with aggressive drum patterns or harsher guitar riffs, but the playful sound that comes through shows that there really are no hard feelings – being angry is not going to fix anything.
While there may not be hard feelings, there are still bitter moments that come up and make us question what went wrong. On “Best Intentions,” for instance, we come to terms with the fact that the relationship is over, even if we know what we could have done to make things work. Lead vocalist, Daniel Anton, sings, “You can recall the simplest things I failed to see / I dwell on all the faults etched in my memory,” but ultimately realizes that it is best to move on. Another memorable track that deals with this scenario is “Ampersands,” which starts out as an acoustic ballad before building up to a lively pop punk smash, complete with electric guitar solo. These tracks show that even if we do not have all of the answers, we can still make peace with the situation and move forward.
This brings us to the last part of our narrative, which is about embracing change. There are times when we will all have to experience something new or different in our lives, which can be scary. If you need help dealing with these changes, then you may want to listen to “Nosedive” and “Right at the Start.” Whether you relate to “If you jump, you will break through these walls” from “Nosedive,” or “Nothing’s ever clear right at the start” from “Right at the Start,” you are sure to find something that will bring you relief.
The album ends with “Five Minute Drive,” which is almost like a recap of everything we have heard, and can apply to countless situations. It brings to life the idea of “expecting the worst, hoping for the best;” we might not know what is ahead, but we should not let our doubts and suspicions get the better of us. All walls are broken down on this track, and the boundless energy of the band really comes through.
Overall, this is a promising first release from Sorry Ghost. The tracks showcase the band’s strengths, and indicate that there is a strong connection between the guys. These are classic emo jams, but they do not have the sense of hopelessness that has become associated with that genre; their optimism sets them apart. You really do want to root for love, and maybe we will find more of it on their next album.
You can listen to The Morning After on platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.
