Sheetghost - sun bleach

Sheetghost

Sun Bleach
self-released; 2014

3.2 out of 5

By Ted Rogen

Sheetghost is a band made up of two brothers from Calgary, Alberta, Canada.They have been playing together for awhile but it’s only been the last two years that they have been writing material for Sheetghost. Their most recent release is an eleven-song album called Sun Bleach.

The songs on this album pretty much sound like demos. They recorded them in their basement and the production isn’t very good. That being said a decent amount of songs work because they basically are a combination of punk and early Guided By Voices. Yes I would have loved to hear some of the songs with higher aesthetics but everyone has to start somewhere.

The first song “Formication” is a chaotic combination of jangly guitar lines, sporadic drumbeats and a couple of vocal lines thrown in for good measure. “New Home” is a solid song and I enjoyed the vocals, which sounded exaggerated. The guitars are sloppy but appropriate and embrace the lo-fi production. “Hermit Crab” drags on a bit too long. It’s made up of a bass line, which provides the main melody and ambience such as guitar noodling and vague voices. The band gets back on track in their U.S. Maple type of way with “Power Crown” and “Cairn.”

“Running Clones / Escape” is the centerpiece of the album. The first is a slightly psychedelic punk escapade that transitions into an absurdly lo-fi song that revolves around a couple of power chords.

“Scatterbrain” is not a cover of the Radiohead song but is instead a minute-and-a-half song that is actually pretty catchy behind the mesh of sounds. They close with “Descending,” which is unlike anything else on the album. It’s an ambient piece that revolves around two notes played on the bass and minor nuances. 

Overall, the album is hit-and-miss but I do love the attitude these guys have. Seems like that just don't give a shit and play whatever they want which is admirable. There is some decent material but at some point these guys may want to seek out a third party to help them record.  

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