State Broadcasters release their second album, The Ghosts We Must Carry, tomorrow. It’s so good, I’ve been listening to it on repeat whilst playing Age of Empires II.
The Ghosts We Must Carry is 43 minutes of lovely, wistful pop. Eleven tracks of melancholy sweetness, subtle lyricisms and gorgeous melodies.
“Buried beneath melancholic string arrangements and melodic twists, the band’s latest offering is reminiscent of The Delgados at their most mournful and reflective moments.” The List
They’re celebrating the release of the album at Woodlands Hall at Wellington Church on University Avenue, Glasgow on Sunday 21 October, but the record itself comes out on the 17th of September.
And even before that, they’re releasing a song from the album, Kittiwake, on Bandcamp right now, via honesty box. I’ve embedded it below.
Like I said before, I’ve grown fond of this record. Whilst it’s whimsical and playful, each track is cut with a degree of sadness, or nostalgia – some doses are stronger than others. For instance, the track Outside the Bakery has a lovely homely ring to it, but Where I Belong seems almost desperate and raw in its emotional content.
The mix of heartfelt, ambiguous feeling and quiet, melancholic musical arrangement brings a – perhaps inevitable – comparison with Belle & Sebastian. They’re not the only act I can think to group them with; I picked up traces of Velvet Underground, James Yuill, Yuck and Los Campesinos! While those references are complimentary, they might be unnecessary; Ghosts is an excellent record, and a great example of modern chamber pop, in its own right.
Highlights on the album for me include the duet Takeshi, the cute and advisory Kittiwake and teh faster tempo of Writing’s On The Wall. From opening track The Only Way Home to closer New Year’s Day, the album is excellent. It’s lovely, catchy and sad and smart all at once, and though it reminds me of so many good bands, it’s original even in the way it does that, and so it carves its own niche right there and then. There’s not much more I can say.
[...] State Broadcasters released their second album Ghosts We Must Carry, a touching and melancholy collection of indie pop songs. A soundtrack for many a bicycle ride. Dauphin’s review. [...]