Escape The Day - Ghostless

1.Hallways 2. Ghostless 3. Days 4. The Hour Undone 5. If I Told You 6. Still
7. This Wave’s Length  8. Last Words

    This album is seeped in a beautiful sort of melancholy. ‘Hallways’ begins with a haunting guitar riff accompanied with synthesizers, which set the mood for the utterly depressive vocals. From the start of this song until the very end, it is clear that the members of this band all possess a lot of ability, and they didn’t hold any of it back with this song. At 2 ½ minutes the song builds into a wonderful guitar duet, with one playing a sad tune, while the other twangs and almost weeps in the background, giving off a feeling of great distance along with the synthesizers. A perfect beginning to an excellent musical journey.

    The title track begins with a very distinct guitar melody, and it is quickly overlapped by another, more tragic riff as the drums play forcefully in the background. Everything about this song is excellently done, from the main melody, which captivates and holds you, to the synthesizers that give the song the same distant feel as the previous song, to the vocals by Lars that are delivered with passion and perfection. About midway through, the song switches gears and breaks down into a tune that is quieter and well written, before a sorrowful piano theme takes over to complete this wonderful song. 

    Lyrics can often make a song stand out from the crowd and give it a profound amount of depth if they are presented in the right way, and that is the case with almost every song on this album, especially these first three. It is eerie, given the events that led to the band’s end, when you listen to these lyrics, as they provide a glimpse into the world of Escape The Day, and seem, at times, to almost be foretelling the tragedy that would transpire. A lonely piano plays as ‘Days’ starts off, before Lars’ gentle vocals take hold, flowing well with the tune and making the listener hold on to the words like a guide and a light amidst the lonely atmosphere of the music. This was amazing to me, as very few songs have ever drawn me in that much with the music and captured my interest as this one does. My favorite song, hands down.

4. The Hour Undone

    ‘The Hour Undone’ contains some of the album’s best melodies in my opinion, starting off with an unstable sounding guitar and rhythmic, almost tribal drumming, which is only made better when a cello and piano enter the fray. There are no vocals in this song, and to be honest it really doesn’t need them, as the music speaks for itself through the sounds.
    I was surprised at the intensity that was present towards the end of this song, with the rough guitar and the battery of the drums illustrating the release of pent-up emotion and frustration that sounds as amazing and beautiful as it does pain-filled and agonizing. This is an excellent song, and one of my favorites on Ghostless.

    Again the album returns to the softer melancholic sound that we’ve grown accustomed to, this time with a strange flute-like instrument in the background. Vocals join the instruments again, and give the music an extremely realistic sound, full of weariness and regret, and you can tell that these musicians put all they had into its creation. This song embodies regret, and it is conveyed flawlessly.

    Yet another brilliant song, ‘Still’ also contains female vocals to go along with the main voice, adding depth and weight to the words and melody. What I find most appealing about Escape The Day is that they reflect human emotions so clearly and truthfully within their music, something that seems to be all too rare in music today. Towards the conclusion of the song, there is almost a folk sound present for a brief moment before it winds down with the sound of a cello.

    The sound of static greets the ears at the beginning of track 7, until it is overtaken by hopeless sounding vocals. As with ‘Days’, ‘This Wave’s Length’ contains lyrics that are layered with weariness, despair, and a desire to escape the troubles of life. The lonely guitar takes over once again after a short while and continues the journey through the world of Escape The Day. A strange instrument that sounds like a church organ plays faintly in the background as the song drifts back into the static that it started with.

    The conclusion of Ghostless is bleak, yet melodious; with the guitar sounding very raw and bare over a sorrowful piano theme, growing darker as it goes on, until the song fades away with a final strum of the guitar. In all, ‘Last Words’ is a great ending to Ghostless, and exemplifies the band’s trademark sound of ‘beautiful melancholy’.