From the opening cascading cords of the latest Ghost Pavillion track “Still On Ice,” one would almost do a double take that they might be hearing a new Beach House track. Yet instead of the noted dream pop Baltimore duo, we get the west coast version, spearheaded by James Higgs.
Ghost Pavillion plumbs the depths of escapism in a series of affecting visuals that function, ostensibly, as a backdrop to the soundtrack of doomsday scrolling on his debut full-length and self-titled LP, mastered by GRAMMY-nominated engineer John Baldwin (The White Stripes, Iggy Pop, Sly Stone). Higgs tracked Ghost Pavilion at home in Los Angeles, a departure from his work with Charles Burst—former Seaside Lounge owner/engineer (The National, St. Vincent, and Paul Banks of Interpol have recorded here)—in Brooklyn, New York, where he recorded Traces and the Oblivion EP, as well as his most recent single, “Bleed on Sunset.”
“All of these videos were influenced by our modern lenses,” says Higgs. “We get our news through sound bites, expressions by way of emojis, and ideas in less than 280 characters.” Higgs juxtaposes these lenses with dancy, synth-laden rhythms, hazy guitars, and dreamlike soundscapes to temper the zeitgeist of modern tech and its unruly fixation with efficacy.
Glide is premiering “Still On Ice,” the encapsulating new track that drifts with a masterful urgency that is both sweet and seductive atop a stark and fragile presentation.
“I tried to encapsulate a feeling of nostalgia. Remembering what you’ve forgotten only to misremember it. Trying to hold onto memories while they slip through your fingers. In an age where everything is well documented, we scroll endlessly through our memories but still can’t recall,” says Higgs.
The post SONG PREMIERE: Ghost Pavillion Offers Encapsulating Dream Pop On “Still On Ice” appeared first on Glide Magazine.
