We’ve got a live one for ya here. The new album from New Jersey-based witch-punk band Ghost Camp–comprised of David Pressler (vocals, rhythm guitar), Joe Vick (lead guitar, synth), Christian Joyner (bass), and Max Dienemann (drums)–is now available for streaming right below these words. The album, titled Great Lakes, is full of jaunty tunes that never quit. The best part is, you really don’t want them to.
Recorded from August 2015 to March 2016 in Clifton, NJ, the collection of fast, loud new-wave/indie-punk songs on Great Lakes deal with trying to understand your place in a vast universe, transitioning from a child to an adult and how that affects your perception of reality. Are we just a collection of memories and traumas informed by material conditions? Pretty much, yeah. But that doesn’t mean what happens in between birth and death isn’t heavy shit.
The songs are lyrically-lite with extended periods of instrumentals that have a nice, consistent beat to them. The album starts off with “Clean Air,” a more relaxed version of the songs you are going to hear on the rest of the album. The middle glides us along for a journey of pure poetry — from the words to the beat, the middle songs of Great Lakes are slick. The album rounds out with “Voyager,” a personal favorite, and is a perfect ending to an intelligent album both lyrically and instrumentally.
Tracks to put on repeat: “Heaven’s Gate,” “Kickball Katy,” “Cowboys,” and “Voyager.”
7/1 @ the Barn, Red Bank NJ
7/15 @ the J House, New Brunswick NJ
7/23 @ Bayside Bowl, Portland ME
7/29 @ the Acknowledgement Room, Blacksburg VA
8/11 @ the Meatlocker, Montclair NJ
