Ghost Of A Chance: Ghost Of A Chance

Ghost Of A Chance: Ghost Of A Chance
I generally make it a habit not to review records by bands named after Rush songs. On the other hand, I generally try to review albums by Connecticut bands. That is why Ghost of a Chance is getting reviewed but Ohio’s Lakeside Park is still shit out of luck.
Ghost of a Chance’s self-titled debut album is indicative of a current movement in Connecticut’s college rock scene. The scene was once dominated by hardcore, ska, and punk bands and while those genres still have their place, the scene has also taken a heavy turn towards the brand of rock that Ghost of a Chance is pedaling. The group’s sound mixes the guitar work indicative of 80s alternative rock acts like Dinosaur Jr with the neo-psychedelic sounds of groups like Animal Collective. The result is an album with a fairly strong song writing base but lacks strong hooks and feels a little under produced.
For all the hating of Animal Collective that I do (and I do a lot), they have always manage to uphold a certain production value even in their early lean years. But right from the get-go, Ghost Of A Chance has some mixing issues. Opening track “Sir” is actually a fairly well written song, but my initial listen through of the song was spent with me trying to figure out what was off. I finally decided that the loudest instrument in the mix of the song was not the guitar or the vocals but was rather the tambourine. Oddly enough, later in the album “Dreams” has the same issue. It is not an issue that kills the album but it detracts from the band’s song writing and lyricism.
The band’s lo-fi recording and bounce between acoustic and electric reminds me of The Microphones but it never quite connects into anything as good as The Glow Pt. 2. The album’s closing track, “You’re Welcome” comes close. The track crescendos into a loud, distorted mess but then re-finds clarity in a Photo Album-era Death Cab for Cutie-esque outro.
Unfortunately that song is the exception rather than the norm. The album is mostly filled with high concept songs that lack the basic things that elevate a song from mediocrity to memorable. Most of the songs could use stronger hooks, slightly better recording quality, and a little less going on in them. I hate giving a CT band a bad review but that’s just one man’s opinion.
Rating: 5.2/10
MP3: Ghost of a Chance “Your Welcome”
Buy: February Records