Album of the Week: Ghosts on TV 🇫🇮 - 'Iridescent'

Ghosts on TV have said that “the starting point for ‘Iridescent’ might have been a need to focus a bit more on the quieter and more spacious side of our band.” I couldn’t agree more with that description. And as much as part of me would happily accept endless variations on “I Am Not Dead I Am 55 Today”, I do reluctantly accept that bands need to keep moving, exploring new corners of their sound rather than endlessly retracing old steps.

That quieter, more expansive approach pays off in the earlier tracks of Iridescent in particular. “CCTV” is particularly mesmerizing, its glockenspiel sparkling through the mix and creating the sensation of watching a constellation of twinkling stars from the quietest, darkest place on Earth. It’s a track that rewards stillness and attention.

‘Amber and Gold’ will definitely appeal more if you miss the more sustained GOTV wall of sound, but before you reach that point just enjoy the intricacies of the intertwining guitars, the production and sound excellent throughout, whilst ‘American Cars Everywhere’ in America’ offers a tumultuous complex climactic conclusion. ‘Glass Choir’ definitely offers something different, the soaring vocal melody is brave, distinct and everything comes together with a beautifully scored passage, whilst concluding instrumental track ‘Čâđđâ’ is possibly my favourite of all, almost 10 minutes that seems to effortlessly fuse together that newer more spacious side of their music with a sustained barrage of traditional GOTV noise.

It is a simply stunning release from a band who I firmly believe are amongst the best post rock bands on the planet. Of course that’s if it is post rock, rather than art rock, shoegaze or even our favoured Nordic variant, pinegaze. Maybe none of them quite fit for Iridescent, as Ghosts on TV cleverly shift towards a space of their own, but of course it doesn’t really matter. We’re just very lucky to have them.

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Release Date: 15th May

Record Label: Soliti