Love American EP

by

Give Up the Ghost

Edit

Give up the Ghost is unlike almost every other hardcore band out there. Formerly known as American Nightmare, but now not allowed to even refer to that name because of copyrite issues, they play "tough-guy" hardcore, AKA sped up punk with screaming, yet they have some of the most poetic lyrics in music i can think of.

Wes Eisold has a beautiful voice, though his vocals mainly consist of screaming. The title track, "Love American" is also one of the best tracks on the recent "We're Down til We're Underground" album, which is one of my favorites, while the other two songs are equally as amazing.

Give up the Ghost is certainly one of the best hardcore outfits in recent music history, and its a shame that they recently broke up, even though I couldn't imagine them coming out with an album to top this single and "We're Down til We're Underground".

This is their first release as Give Up The Ghost (formerly they were called American Nightmare, then, briefly, American Nothing), and with their name change their slowly but surely heading into another direction. I've read a lot of stuff about people not liking the new name, but who cares? As long as their not called like The Little Cupcakes or Aborted Fetus, it won't be a problem with me. If you don't know Give Up The Ghost (American Nightmare), they play somewhat traditional hardcore mixed with a new school feel. The lyrics and vocals of this band are what stands out the most, and sets them apart from all the other hardcore bands out there. The lyrics are deeply personal, truely original, and well thought-out and well written. Sort of like Morrissey but a bit darker.

Basically this a 3 song cd. Two originals and a cover song. The first song is called "Love American," and it's a slight departure from their other stuff. It's still the same type of sound but they add a little bit more melody. The first thing you'll notice is that Wes (the vocalist) sounds a bit different on this release. The vocals aren't as throaty as before, and you can kind of understand what he's saying without reading the lyric sheet. Didn't like this song at first, but after a couple of listens I got into it. Also the lyrics are awesome. The second song is called "The Hell We've Been Living In," and I don't like it. Musically, it doesn't do anything for me. The lyrics aren't as well written, and Wes's vocals sound different than on the previous song. On the first song he sounds kind of like Sick Of It all or Where Fear and Weapons Meet, and on the second song he sounds like the guy from Shutdown (which isn't a good thing). The third song is very cool. It's a cover from a band called Archers of Loaf (which I never heard of) and it's called "You and Me." It's starts off very slowly but then builds up and just rocks from there. Great guitar riffs on this one. Wes goes back to the vocals from pre-Give Up The Ghost (background music) to sing this one.

All in all this is a pretty solid release. Was only disappointed in the second song. Also the artwork is cool.

Other bands to check out: The Hope Conspiracy, The Suicide File.