New from multi-instrumentalist Cliff Barnes comes the latest album from his Animal Ghosts project, Wail. It’s his newest release since his star turn at DreamGaze Worldwide Festival, and serves as a reminder of just how abundantly creative he is.
Cliff grew up around the Portland area of Oregon, and also spent some formative years on the Maine coast. He started Animal Ghosts in mid-2019 after beginning to get really burned out and uninspired by corporate work. He had played guitar in bands of various genres growing up, then got expelled from school, started moving around and experimenting with solo music and engineering/production in his late teen and college years. Of that time Cliff says, “I lost track of that passion somewhere in the rat race. Animal Ghosts is me reconnecting with the kinds of sounds that have always been a part of my life, in an effort to feel alive again.”
Cliff writes and records all the elements of his music with minimal equipment: primarily a guitar, a couple pedals, a keyboard and software. That’s not all though, as Cliff tells us. “I use my photography and videography to create visual components which are very important to me. I’ve always loved a combined audio and visual experience.” His DreamGaze Worldwide performance video proves the assertion.
The latest two albums Cliff has released as Animal Ghosts have been quarantine recordings, and for those he has dug down and explored more specific personal concepts and subjects.
Will opens with sonic assault of “Collide”. Centered ’round a piercing riff, this song is the perfect start to the album. The hushed and veiled vocals contrast with the wall of sound glide guitars. Some really deft guitar work in the instrumental break too.
“Syringes” makes full use of the songs dynamics to showcase the interplay between Cliff and Nat Chippy from Melbourne band VIM. Even though this track features screeching feedback and layers of fuzzed-out guitar, it never loses that intimate ballad feel.
“Aches” is very aptly named. You can almost feel the aching in the melancholic delivery of both the vocals and lead guitar line. I really enjoy how Cliff uses melodic and treble-heavy guitar lines to paint a splash of colour in his songs. It really lifts the mood especially in the epic closing section.
If it’s riffs you want then look no further than “Stomach”. The hook riff in this track is fully satisfying for fans of the sound. I love how the vocals are in a battle with the wall of guitars as well. At times they win, then succumb to crashing waves of static filled goodness. Without a doubt my stand out track.
“Lost”, a beautiful sound experiment follows. Meandering and shimmering like a stream in summer, it sets us up nicely for “Moonbeam”. This song comes in with an explosion. MBV comparisons here will abound, but the glorious noise this song floats on is wholly new to my ears. I keep having to remind myself that this is one man making all this music. Cliff’s melodic guitar playing once again stamping his unique identity and surprising the ear.
As a perfect foil to “Moonbeam”s sonic assault, “Eyes” takes the pace down whilst presenting the listener with new textures and soundscapes to get lost in. These two songs flow so neatly into each other.
We take a sharp ninety degree turn into “Drip” before settling into a similar groove as “Eyes”. These two songs could almost be two sides of the same coin. It’s so obvious Cliff has given some serious thought to track listing this album, as the ebb and flow emerge naturally, evolving organically from the subject matter.
Like a shot from a glitter cannon “Rehab” bursts onto the speakers. Sounding otherworldly and fuelled by cosmic radiation, this is another track where you find yourself getting lost in the myriad layers, asking yourself, how is he doing that?
The album closes on another sound experiment called “Distance”. Sounding like sonic waves washing up on the shores of some strange radio station ebbing off into the void. It rounds off this listening experience very nicely indeed.
Cliff has created something wonderfully surreal, dreamlike and ferocious in Wail. It demands repeated listens to truly appreciate all that is there to discover. Lay back, put on some headphones and let Animal Ghosts wander the halls of your mind.
Wail and its predecessors Will and Wane are available now from Animal Ghost’s Bandcamp page.
Follow the prolific but rich musical output of Animal Ghosts via Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. We can only look forward to what comes next, as the result is always surprising, engaging, challenging preconceived notions and stuffy conventions. Frankly, we’re here for it.
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