Dark Days + Canapés
‘Dark Days + Canapés’ is Ghostpoet's most defining album to date. A stunning and stimulating return, 'Dark Days + Canapés’ is a record that captures the sense of unease felt by so many in recent times. After receiving recognition for the beat-driven arrangements of his first two albums, third album 'Shedding Skin' initiated a more alt-rock sound that saw Ghostpoet Mercury nominated for a second time. New album ‘Dark Days + Canapés’, produced by Leo Abrahams, best known for his work with Brian Eno and Jon Hopkins, delves even further into a fuller, guitar driven sound. When commenting on the first track from the album, ‘Immigrant Boogie’, Ghostpoet aka Obaro Ejimiwe explains; “I’m usually more comfortable writing in ambiguous terms, but this time around I felt there were specific stories that needed telling.” Serendipity and experimentalism were embraced in the studio and several original ideas evolved or were supplanted by something unexpected. On 'Freakshow’ the addition of manic laughter from a gospel choir, who had turned up to sing on a different track, compounds the crazed nature of the song, whilst ‘Blind As A Bat...’, influenced by Talk Talk’s ‘Laughing Stock’, saw string players invited to improvise with fragments of their performance sampled and overlaid to build something less structured, more wayward and reflective of the state of mind of the protagonist. Typically self-effacing, Obaro says; “there’s a sort of life-force that Leo and the other musicians brought to this record, and that was crucial. I want people to listen to the songs and be able to say, ‘So Isn’t just me then? Phew.”
The Londoner's fourth album is a disquieting listen that reflects the times.
Plus Steven Wilson - To The Bone, Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer - Not Dark Yet, Judy Henske - The Elektra Albums, Angelo de Augustine - Swim Inside The Moon
Discover Dark Days + Canapés by Ghostpoet released in 2017. Find album reviews, track lists, credits, awards and more at AllMusic.
The latest album from Ghostpoet, Dark Days & Canapés is an expertly crafted assault on the fallacy that ignorance is bliss.
The fourth album from Ghostpoet isn't an easy listen. Obaro Ejimiwe's voice is most often a growl, lingering over his sparse rock beats and guitar-driven melodies with a subtle audacity.
The fourth album from the x2 Mercury Prize nominated Obaro Ejimiwe - aka Ghostpoet - is an LP that captures the unease of the times.
Dark Days + Canapés by Ghostpoet album review by Owen Maxwell. The full-length comes out on August 17th via Pias Recordings.
Of course, Ghostpoet is merely exploring the world around him, but unlike Radiohead’s OK Computer, incredibly insightful and prophetic 20 years on, its unambiguous, unbridled hopelessness is wearing.