All of a sudden, I'm finding releases not only by bands from Yorkshire but specifically York cropping up in my mail (sent via Whisperin' and Hollerin', not to me directly) and more often than not, I've never heard of them or noticed them in the live listings. Maybe I'm just out of touch where my local scene's concerned. Or maybe there are just a lot of new bands cropping up right now.
Some of them prove to be pleasantly surprising, and Hungry Ghosts' new single 'By the Bridge' is one of them. Yes, it's indie, but it's not jangly, and it's not choppy either, but cut from an altogether different cloth. The big guitar solo is rather unexpected, but there's a hint of Bowie in the air when it's over and there are hooks galore and a monster chorus, making it an obvious single track that does exactly what it's designed to do. There's definite mass appeal here, but without being painful, vapid or cheesy.
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B-sides 'Cinema Boy' and 'Nightlight' prove that the catchy lead track wasn't a one-off fluke, with the latter suggesting a dash of early Suede, only less effete... ok, so we're back to Bowie I guess, but hey. Hungry Ghosts are making the kind of indie you don't get so often nowadays, in that it's not 80s electro influenced, isn't jeans 'n' t-shirts pub rock and isn't ripping off Gang of Four / Franz Ferdinand, and has something of a spark about it – and for that, credit is due.
Hungry Ghosts Online
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