GHOSTS IN THE VALLEY searching for a fit.

Heading straight from Bucks County comes Ghosts in the Valley; a band easily labeled as pop punk in a sea of pop punks, yet they offer so much more. They have a raw older hardcore punk meets late 80’s alternative rock sound, like something you would hear on an SST sampler alongside Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, fIREHOSE, Hüsker Dü and Minutemen. Musically, as well as technically, they have a sound in common with those SST and later Dischord bands.

Ghost in the Valley’s newest release, “Subtle as a Brick”, opens with a killer jam called “Kingsize”. You hear the steady 3 guitar chord goodness of power punk virtuosos as well as the bowel shaking basslines that we all play air guitar to (rather air plucking, if you will). Then the vocals hit you. The best reference for vocalist and guitar player Scotty Why’s singing woul be an original cross between Dan Yemin’s melodic hardcore sound and Mike McKee’s post punk fueled swooning. All in all, a track like this is a great way to start out an album because it’s an immediate attention-getter. It makes you want more of the same.

Track numero dos, “On Two Sticks”, brings us back to a time when funk rock ruled the airwaves. So far, this album has been very bass heavy, which is something that’s been missing in modern punk rock. The third song brings us back to the bands punk roots, with a sing along chorus and very college radio friendly sound, as well as simple guitar chords, prominent basslines and good old electric fuzz.

The album opens 3 for 3, but it’s almost as if the band stuck all their good songs on the first half of the album and left the weaker ones towards the end. Later tracks like “Why?” and “Backyard Rollercoaster” drone on, yet they’re not totally horrible, they just seem to fade into the background. Before the album ends however we’re given two more decent chances at redemption; “Ultra Fine Point” and “She Rises”. The former drones a bit, but in a good way, showing once again the fantastic vocal stylings and great guitar chords. Yes, it’s slower than the other songs, but it showcases every band member’s instrumental and vocal talents. The latter goes back to the pop punk sound we missed on the past couple of songs. “She Rises” sounds like a Squirtgun B-side, which is not an awful thing at all.

To sum things up, this release is definitely worth picking up, as the good outnumbers the bad, and there’s really little ugly (except for the final track “Deadman’s Float” which once again, is a snoozer). Sooner or later Ghosts in the Valley have to decide a key genre to fit into and go off from there. Until then, this album will float in between The Germs and Good Riddance in the punk section and between Garbage and the Gin Blossoms in the alternative rock section.

myspace.com/ghostsinthevalley

About Dave Radwill

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