Album Review: Ghost Stories - 'Dumb Luck'

21 July 2013 | 9:27 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Troubled emo punk for fans of Basement and Turnover.

Ghost Stories sound a lot like Basement, which for the band, who name the grunge emo group as one of their major influences, can only be a good thing. On closer listen, you can add bands like Turnover and Citizen to that list. However, for fans that want something a bit different from the slew of emo punk bands constantly coming their way however, Ghost Stories’ debut EP Dumb Luck is nothing particularly exciting. Having said this, the band has executed the tortured, nostalgic and complex, progressive instrumentation of the bands aforementioned, with respectable accuracy and precision.

The EP’s kick off track, ‘Yawn’, begins with a crushing riff joined aptly by melodic guitar progressions that cuts through the edgy, boyish vocals of the lead singer. The lead lets up the deliberate apathy of his tone occasionally in favor of a punk inspired gritty grumble in 'Gritty Grievances', which is, as the title suggests grittier than any of the other tracks on the album. Just like in ‘Loose Leaves’, Ghost Stories distance themselves from Basement and the like by possessing a defiant punk rock aggravation in the instrumentation and vocals that is impressive.

'No Calls On Your Birthday' is about one of the members having to spend his birthday alone, without the company of an awful group of friends that had forsaken him. As in tracks like this and ‘Blur’, it is clear that, if anything, Ghost Stories know how to take the memories of their hardships in life and inject them into their music. It is inevitable that their listeners will come from the same troubled, likeminded community that flock to our beloved Basement and Turnover for an opportunity to share experience and bad memories.

There’s nothing not to like about Ghost Stories’ Dumb Luck. It’s just that, on more than a handful of listens nothing particularly stands out, and that could be a problem for Ghost Stories if they want to do more than just blend in. However, Ghost Stories have joined the community of bands who write lyrics and make music for the chance to share their troubled memories with fans who are experiencing similar things. And, for that, they should be commended.

1. Yawn

2. Grievances

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3. No Calls On Your Birthday

4. Loose Leaves

5. Blur

6. Daydreamer