My Sad Captains - Ghost Song

We would imagine that the usual reactions to seeing, or thinking you’ve seen, a ghost to include; screaming, running, or even calling a fictional film-inspired group of ghost hunting protagonists. But for Ed Wallis, the natural reaction was to sit down, muse and write a song.

After the lead singer of My Sad Captains, and non-believer, saw his first ghostly apparition, Ed decided to scrawl this new single to elucidate the notion of challenging various beliefs.

Yet, rather than haunting chords and spooky spine-tingling vocals, ‘Ghost Song’ is bursting with upbeat Indie melodies. It combines uplifting Folky guitars with lyrics that exude an endearing sort of simplicity, reminiscent to that of The Shins, to create a harmless, yet charming, musical treat.

And whilst after a few listens, the track, although catchy, has the potential to conjure waves of apathy in its innate hollowness, the five free b-sides that come with the single, demonstrate that these melancholy Sea men have a lot more depth than the title track suggests.

‘Make Your Mark’, a truly standout four minutes, effortlessly captivates the listener with Ed’s vocals sounding raspy and tortured as he reveals ‘You dislocated my heart / You’ve really made your mark’, in a way that articulates all the physical hurt of a break up with a painful style of accuracy. Similarly ‘Change of Scenery’, showcases the band’s both musical and lyrical darker side and draws inevitable comparisons of the band with the likes of Broken Social Scene and Iron and Wine.

Whilst new single, ‘Ghost Song’, is a frivolous and upbeat three minutes, perfect for the season, My Sad Captains’ most successful outputs seem to be the ones which are, well, sad. They scale the depths of human emotions in a way that appears completely unforced and simultaneously lace their lyrics with a unique illusion of simplicity. Something that would seem a winning formula and a beguiling quality.