 |
| "Public Housing" was released on Oct. 29 on Odessa Records. Gross Ghost will be celebrating their album release this Friday, Nov. 22 at Cat's Cradle's new Back Room w/ Last Year's Men and Schooner. |
“It starts this way/nothing to do
nothing to say,” Mike Dillon desperately sings out as the opening track to
Gross Ghost’s latest full-length Public
Housing kicks in. A brisk drum beat and bouncing bass line drive along
until the electric guitar frenetically bursts through the mix, setting the tone
for what’s to come on this enthralling sophomore release from Gross Ghost.
While their debut Brer Rabbit relished in playful
poignancy, Dillon and company go straight for the throat on Public Housing, an album the chronicles
a hectic period of couch surfing during the post-break up wake. Tracks like the
album’s opener “Seeds” display a lot of the sentiments that can be found on Public Housing, Dillon wears his
emotions on his sleeve as he runs the gamut of reactionary tales. While the
overarching themes delve into looking back on loves lost, their sonic
foundation is strongly geared towards the future.
Public
Housing is a crisp record that was recorded at The Pinhook in Durham, one
of the attributing factors to the unequivocal energy that oozes out of these
tracks. The addition of longtime collaborator Christopher Hutcherson-Riddle has
allowed the drums to serve as a powerful driving force for these rhythmically
focused songs. Vocal melodies will frequently mirror the guitar riffs, making
for wonderful interplay between all of the various textures in place. Public Housing finds Gross Ghost putting
together all of the pieces that make for a tight, cohesive band with a strong
drive to succeed.
Whether it be the unforgettable
hooks on tracks like “You Will” or the unshakeable grooves on “Howlin,”
Dillon’s songwriting is the strongest it’s been to date on Public Housing. While Brer
Rabbit was a wonderful album that I still find myself drawn to, it very
much just tackled the surface of this band’s potential. Public Housing plunges deeper into the rabbit hole, allowing for
intimate connections with these tracks. The album’s lone acoustic excursion,
“Dissolve” is filled with insatiable longings of “wanting it all,” and manages
to fit in perfectly with the distorted anthems it’s surrounded by. This can
easily be attributed to that constant sense of connectivity with these songs,
Dillon has poured himself into these tracks and it’s paid off immensely.
Whether you’re hulled up in the
house or barreling down the interstate, Public
Housing’s versatility lends itself to plenty of listening situations. The
introspection allows for listeners to entrench themselves in these tunes while
the upbeat, jangling instrumentation makes these songs capable of filling you
with uncontainable energy, driving you to shake, sway and shout along to these
infectious songs. Public Housing
gives Gross Ghost a powerful foundation to build upon, with two fantastic
releases behind them there’s an undeniable spotlight shone upon this group. It’s
clear that Public Housing is only the
beginning for this newly cemented lineup of Gross Ghost, and there’s nowhere
but up to go from here.
