Ghosts on TV arrives on the 14th April 2023
Finnish post-rock band Ghosts on TV announce their upcoming, self-titled sophomore album; Ghosts on TV arrives on the 14th April 2023 via Soliti Recordings. On the 17th of February 2023, Soliti Recordings release “Sunshine”, the first taste from the album. The static, pretty and noisy rock song shows that Ghosts on TV succeeds with shoegaze sounds. “With the new single comes also a scenic and serene lyric video made by Sonja Tolonen.”
Ossi Björn – Vocals, guitar
Anttoni Hill – Guitar
Aaro Tirronen – 12-string Guitar
Reko Kälkäjä – Keys
Otto Vahtola – Bass
Joona Kinnunen – Drums
Elsi Syrjäaho – Cello
Recorded by Alec Havinmaa at Artlab Studios
Mixed by Alec Havinmaa
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova
Ghosts on TV Guitarist and lyricist for “Sunshine” Anttoni Hill tells us about the track
“”Sunshine” is a song that has been worked on during a time when I acquired a lot of new guitar pedals and thus it has steadily gathered new layers of effects which have “marinated” the sound of the song. Lyrically Sunshine is also a bit different, as it’s one of two tracks on our new album which hasn’t been written by Ossi, our predominant lyricist. I wrote the lyrics for this song, and they are perhaps more abstract and written as a piece of fiction. In ”Sunshine” our protagonists are spending their last day on earth, feeling content with their lives, having made peace with themselves . At the end of the day they wish farewell to their loved ones as they slowly lose their sense of gravity, floating into space and disintegrating into the cosmos. The inspiration for these lyrics came from Ari Aster’s 2019 film Midsommar and its somewhat macabre take on the cyclical nature of life. Yet I aspired to write about the experience of death in a more comforting and gentle way, perhaps even as an empowering experience. You could even say this is somewhat of a happy song.”
Initial Reaction
“They’ve constructed this beautiful lyrical video, featuring the lyrics placed over various scenes of nature; occasionally those shots are obscured, tying into the vibe of the melody in the song, hidden softly beneath a wall of feedback and noise” Austin Town Hall
“Wistful and beautiful shoegaze” – Nikke Lempeä, Radio Helsinki
“U2 to the power of 10. Or 1024 if you prefer; which could be the dB. The last time I heard anything like this, live, was when I went to see Swans a few years ago.” – Nordic Music Central
“Sunshine, a gentle song overall, demonstrates the band’s propensity for strong melodicism as well as their prospects.” Darkenin Heart
“The group dares to be its own kind of miracle in the field of cracked beauty” Decibeli.net
“A comforting song about death” Soundi
“…I’m secretly looking forward to it, as some people will miss it and some will like it in the future.” Niche Music
“Sunshine, the album’s opening track, is a spatial, lovely, and noisy rock song that demonstrates how well Ghosts on TV utilise shoegaze sounds” Janglepophub
“Sunshine, is a fuzzy and dreamy song which finds the band creating something really dynamic out of the inherent mellowness of their songwriting.” destroy/exist
Ghosts on TV: Ghosts on TV (Soliti 104) Release Date: 14/04/2023 Available on CD/Cassette*
1 The Rose Provides The Bees With Honey
2 Life In Plastic
3 Routines
4 Sheets Of Blue
5 Sunshine
6 A Generation Of Pain
7 Muljutus
8 In Flux
Produced by Ghosts on TV
Recorded by Alec Havinmaa at Artlab Studios
Mixed by Alec Havinmaa
Mastered by Philip Shaw Bova
When we began making our sophomore studio album it took a more multifaceted and arguably scattered form compared to our previous efforts. In doing so, however, it also began to branch out into new territories and transcend what we previously have sonically built on. Forming something that has a bit of everything but pushed forward and very much in the present. This is why we felt that this album should be our self-titled album, it is a concrete statement of our band and our roots as it stands today.
After I Am Not Dead, I Am 55 Today we knew that we wanted to do a more ”traditional” album which consists of several songs and several moods. Perhaps the most evident change between albums is the return of vocals. We also experimented and expanded our sound with blast beats, slowcore, shoegaze and ballad influences. Of course the album has to also have one 12-minute heavy kraut rock track that repeats the same riff over and over again. This is also our first studio album with Aaro Tirronen, who joined the band as our new third guitarist in January 2021. His personality and playing style has brought a welcomed breath of fresh air to the ancient musk that is Ghosts on TV.
*Cassette released by Need Money For Records
Ghosts on TV 2023 photo by Sonja Tolonen
Upcoming shows
SAT 18.2. Turku, Indie-iltamat, Utopia
THUR 23.2. Helsinki, Helatorstai-klubi w/ Pasi Salmi
SAT 1.4. Tampere, Varjobaari w/ Thelma’s Dream & Musta Huone
SAT 22.4. Lappeenranta, Uus Hoi Sie
FRI 2.6. Helsinki, Album release show at Kuudes Linja w/ Ptrov & TBA
Small bio
Ghosts on TV are known for creating their own wall of sound combined with a minimalistic, melancholic atmosphere. Three guitars, wistful vocals, pianos, synths and a rhythm section forms the Helsinki based groups diverse sound, which has been described as post-rock, indie or art-rock in Finnish music medias such as Radio Helsinki, Soundi, Rumba, Inferno and YleX.