Over the last year, the world discovered that infamously rigid lockdowns can be approached in numerous ways. Some sought online courses, took up baking, or used the time to reflect and reconnect with themselves. Others learned a new language, and far too many learned to play the ukulele. In Ireland, God Is An Astronaut used the time to put the finishing touches on their 10th studio album ‘Ghost Tapes #10.’ Looking to kick off 2021 in style, the Irish four-piece are set to release ‘Ghost Tapes #10’ on February 12th. An album which may become a career benchmark, being arguably their most daring and ambitious to date.
If ‘Ghost Tapes #10’ is your first introduction to God Is An Astronaut, you will soon discover that there is no such thing as a trivial or wasted detail. Opening track “Adrift” makes for the perfect calling card, its confrontational guitars leading us through an antagonistic, sinewy blur of sound that becomes a vivid and visceral experience of well-crafted frustration that, up until now, had only been peppered across their discography. As the piece progresses, the return of Jamie Dean on guitar/piano yields its rewards. For a moment chaos subsides and space opens up to wander through. In the guise of a simple but beautifully executed piano piece that feels empathetic before it all ends in an uproarious finish.
‘Barren Trees’ proves another piece that takes no effort to wholeheartedly embrace. Once again capturing romance in tension, the underlying dreamy soundscape making for a doomed yet velvet ballad that invites you to step inside the music. If ‘Ghost Tapes #10’ attempts to deconstruct this approach in tracks like “Fade”, it’s not always as successful. Propelled by a nagging bass riff by Niels Kinsella, one that overstays its welcome, “Fade” leans too heavily on assembling multiple busy components around this single unwavering element. Offerings such as “Spectres”, “In Flux” and particularly “Burials” all see Niels Kinsella and Torsten Kinsella on guitar, piano/synths, with additional guitars by Jimmy Scanlan, rallying around drummer Lloyd Hanney as they strike a balance between movement, stillness, and intensity in these wondrous, sonic illustrations.
Album closer, “Luminous Waves” offers quintessential melancholy without sounding miserable. A delicate line that God Is An Astronaut are masters at achieving. Sounding meditative and frozen in time, choosing texture and ambience over riff-heavy angst, a moment of beauty is achieved, with a little help from guest cellist Jo Quail. Bringing an intense, juxtaposing album to a finish with a feeling of settled resolve.
‘Ghost Tapes #10’ conveys enormous power by being an album that is so utterly itself. It wrestles and embraces the struggle between dark and light, chaos and calm, the cerebral and emotional, undertaking a journey through places both private and public. In some ways, these seven songs couldn’t be more different from each other. Yet together they create a unique musical affair. One that captures the complexity of a messy, difficult journey and translates it into an accessible musical experience. Making ‘Ghost Tapes #10’ both an artistic and personal triumph for God Is An Astronaut.
