Review: A. Swayze & The Ghosts – Paid Salvation
It kicks off frighteningly similar to Franz Ferdinand. Did I consider switching it off? Nearly. Am I glad I didn’t? Absolutely. There are no half-arsed, smug vocals in here, just a delightfully refreshing record that hones in on any lazy, unimaginative thoughts of yours and boots them out of your skull.
Nothing Left To Do is their yell-along hit. Not the kind to catch you stood still with both arms pointing to the sky, though, more of a shout along with it whilst essentially vibrating around the room smashing yer mums vase instead of what would be an incredibly rowdy crowd at this point.
It haunts you with an undeniably catchy chorus, with so much going on that you have no other choice but to release some steam for fear of your head exploding.
It’s not very often you have the chance to scream out a list of social media platforms. No, you may often to complain about them and their aide of the collapse of civilisation, but now, with Connect to Consume you get to fling your arms about and lose your voice at the same time.
A. Swayze is in a different zone with Marigold. It’s like someone’s pinched his lunch from the staffroom fridge for the third day running. You’ve absolutely no choice but to join him on his rampage here, let go here and violently flung from the warp speed rollercoaster never to be seen again. You can feel the passion here, I fucking love it.
There’s no break with Paid Salvation, the albums mid-way track, but that’s their intention. Their music has and always will be used to get an important message across, not only in the lyrics but in every last strike of the snare or slog of the distorted guitar strings. They will be heard, they will be listened to.
Mess of Me is a bouncy and uplifting (if you use their other tracks as a reference). Considering it’s about the unvoidable experiences throughout life that have shaped his current life, you somehow feel optimistic after listening to it.
Rich and News follow a similar pattern of enjoyable chorus’, securing it as a record with a lot of momentum from start to finish. You can skate to it, drive to it, run with it, fight along to it, play it as the soundtrack as you scarper from the police, it’s going to keep you moving. For better or worse.
Beaches is the sinister one of the pack. The haunting tones of high-pitched distorted guitars, at velocities that make the guitarist’s fingers bleed, carry you up to the top of a misty mountain at dusk and drops you into the breakdown which leaves you floating down in slow motion. You take in every last sound, your breathing adjusts and then you’re propelled right back up again for the finale.
Cancer is their toe-tapping single that paints an overall picture of the record. It’s great, but I’ve found more journey in some of their nested songs.
You’ve made it, old boy. And you’ve been gifted with Evil Eyes. A lighthearted, sub-two minute track that opens the fire exit for you, gives you a tinnie for the walk home and winks at you on the way out.
“That was fun,” you think to yourself, as you walk with conviction into the distance to tear shit up somewhere.
Cheers, A. Swayze & The Ghosts, it’s been a blast.
A. Swayze & The Ghosts – Paid Salvation was released on 18th September under Ivy League Records. Listen below.