Ghost Woman’s 2022 self-titled album and this January’s swift follow-up Anne, If were both fairly laidback and spaced out affairs, with echoes of Beak’s free form motorik grooves and the Byrds’ pastoral psychedelia. Now that multi-instrumentalist Evan Üschenko has recruited the forceful percussion of Ille van Dessel to gang, however, their third album in 18 months, Hindsight Is 50/50 presents a considerably heavier prospect.
In fact, with the duo seemingly taking pointers from Spacemen 3’s superlative monster trip soundtracks on the head-spinning trance of “Alright Alright”, it might well be time to stash the lava lamps and plug in a battery of hyperactive strobes when they come to hit the road and this material is unleashed in the live arena. There certainly won’t be any mellow zoning out going on, that’s for sure.
Ghost Woman’s influences aren’t so difficult to pick out. The sinister and narcotic “Buik”, with Üschenko’s chanted “I’m scared of myself and everyone else”, also has strong echoes of Rugby’s finest psychedelicists – which is absolutely nothing to complain about. Elsewhere, there are elements of trippy titans from considerably further back in time, like the Thirteenth Floor Elevators on the disconcerting “Along Part 2”, while Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd sound like they could quite easily have had a hand in the woozy but heavy “Highly Unlikely”. But, as it has been said before, there’s nothing truly original in rock’n’roll.
Ghost Woman also bring plenty of their own vibe to Hindsight Is 50/50 too. “Offessa” has both Ille’s icy monotone and Evan’s more harmonious vocals over a seriously hip-swinging groove, while “Yoko” has a driving stomp about it that breaks into a cacophony of squealing feedback. Even recent single, “Juan” is positively marinated in reverb but doesn’t stand still for a moment, and it all makes for a very heady brew indeed.
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