《Ghosts from the Past》is the third Bang Gangs full-length album. Since releasing《Something Wrong》and a self-title album with Keren Ann under the name Lady & Bird in 2003, Barði Jóhannsson had mainly been touring the US, Scandinavia, France and Japan, as well as composing music for TV ads (notably Volkswagen, TGV, Citroën, Yves Rocher, Emporio Armani) and documentaries (e.g.《And Bjork Of Course》(2004),《Life and Death of Andy Warhol》(2005)). He also collaborated with the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra in 2006 to make the soundtrack of《Häxan》, a cult film about witchcraft directed by Benjamin Christensen in 1922.
Like Bang Gangs first 2 albums,《Ghost from the Past》is enclosed with an atmospheric soundscape that is inseparable from Barðis eccentric personality. With the use of piano, guitar and his hypnotizing voice, he visualizes a reality beginning with “The World is Gray”. “Black Parade” is the most experimental track in the album, in which Barðis saddening monologue is repeatedly thrashed by the noise of guitar and drum.
“Lost in Wonderland” is a beautiful post-rock ballad in the middle of the album; however Barði ignores the will of this unreal world to end in such a peaceful moment. No, it is in fact a real world created by an unreal voice: and so he carries it on, with the even more melodic “Ghosts from the Past”.
The album ends with “Dont Feel Ashamed” and “You Wont Get Out”, (with Keren Ann and Anthony Gonzalez from M83 respectively as both the co-writers and backing vocals) but never does the darkness:《Ghosts from the Past》is a dawn without sunrise where the poet is trapped and encounters again and again the ghosts from the past.
小白兔官網
