Introducing: Love Ghost

As the official website details, Love Ghost is the musical project of California based Finnegan Bell. They will be supporting The Skinner Brothers on tour this November, alongside SAHAJi who hail all the way from Japan (see Jamey's introduction to them here).

I realise that if you're already familiar with The Skinner Brothers then Love Ghost really has little need of an introduction, having been thrust upon us in the best possible way with the collaboration on the masterpiece that is Freedom in a Padded Cell. However, if you've yet to delve into the multi-layered depths of Love Ghost's own back catalogue, I'm here to help!

Before we begin, I will admit that I too, was stupidly late to dipping my toe in these waters, aside from the odd song here and there. What can I say? My intentions were good but time slips away from me sometimes and I'm also very easily distracted! I've been making up for that in recent weeks however, and I've had an amazing time doing it.

You know how we love that The Skinner Brothers aren't contained to a single genre and refuse to be tied down with labels (in both senses of the word!)? Love Ghost is exactly the same way, but spans into slightly different genre zones (more grunge / industrial / alt-rock / emo / metal with a smattering of other genres such as hip hop and pop-punk).

Speaking of similarities, Love Ghost is also very similar to The Skinner Brothers in the sense that, like Zac, Finn is very much at the creative helm in regard to the songwriting process. I suspected as much but Google confused me by listing various (and changing) band members. So I double checked with the man himself, who kindly gave me the following confirmation:

"Love Ghost is my project (like Zac). I am the primary songwriter. I collab with so many artists all over - but these songs come from me first and foremost."

So that cleared that up - it's always good to be as sure as you can about the facts!

I've spent the past week or so immersing myself in the music in preparation for this post. I'd listened to a song here and there previously, but otherwise this was my first real headlong dive into the wonderfully varied world of Love Ghost.

Much as with The Skinner Brothers, it's difficult to sum up the general sound of Love Ghost in words. Instead of attempting to do that, I made the choice to let the music speak largely for itself. This is meant to be an introductory post rather than a review as such, so I'll accompany each song with words but they'll be brief.

I spent many hours agonising over which songs to choose in order to best showcase not only the sheer talent, but also the variety of choice on offer in LG's musical menu. In the end I decided to include a whole playlist and highlight just a few songs from it, leaving you to explore the rest at your leisure. I really urge you to do so, you'll truly be missing out if you don't!

Finn has done so many amazing collaborations with other artists that I thought I'd alternate between solo LG projects and collaborative works in the songs I highlight. Many of the collabs are done with some incredible Mexican artists which I've absolutely loved. I barely understand a word of Spanish but I do love the sound of that language and it adds some glorious texture.

Ok, here we go, I'm putting my DJ hat on!

First up is Cocoon. Finn chose this one himself when he appeared on the Vocal Citizen live stream recently and I can see why.

This is a song with a definite feel of grunge that makes you feel things right from your gut. The contrasting vocal styles are delivered with a level of skill I'm sure Cobain himself would be proud of! Lyrically speaking, the dark and poetic tone suits the instrumental backdrop perfectly.

Next up is Nightshade and Cocaine, a collaboration with Skold. The moment I heard this I knew it would be a favourite. The chorus on this especially is just divine, and I've had it stuck in my head for days!

"Nightshade and cocaine
I don't want to die if there's no pain"

Such an interesting and profound segment from the chorus, and this song is full of them!

Third on the list is Chronicles. This is a song with a heavy subject but the vocal delivery is brilliantly playful, almost devilishly so. Which seems to me a perfect representation of the torture your own brain inflicts on you when dealing with mental health problems.

Next we have Glock. This is a collab with Mexican artist Dan Garcia and melds an industrial sound with hip hop. I adore it!

I'm no stranger to music with non-English vocals, I listen to a few metal bands who sing in their native language (the Finnish band Finntroll for example). Vocals in a language you don't understand give a whole new texture to music. It becomes less about meaning through words, and more about interpreting sound, which is a delight in itself.

For a completely different direction, I thought I'd throw in Outer Space. It's a truly beautiful song that draws your mind into another world. It actually makes you feel like you're floating in space. Amazing!

Also, I noticed this in the comments section of that video.

Honestly, it should almost be illegal to be this talented at such a young age! At that age I was mostly busy getting into things I shouldn't have been getting into. I did write some very bad poetry which I'm grateful got lost somewhere, but that was the extent of my teenage accomplishments.

I feel this definitely deserves a round of applause!

To wake you the fuck back up after what at times is a dip into one of the chillest zones known to man, I give you Chains Worldwide ft. Strange Bones. I have no real reason for picking this one other than the fact that it sounds absolutely sick.

This presses a lot of buttons for me - screaming guitars, gritty industrial elements and deliciously aggressive vocals. My metal heart loves it.

And now we're down to the final choice. I feel as though sad violin tones would be appropriate here. I've a sinking feeling inside of me that I've left some crucial song out, but I'm limiting myself to 5 choices, so here we are.

I present to you the song titled Pulp, which I think is a great representation of yet another side to Love Ghost.

I find myself drawing parallels with The Skinner Brother's Lonely Head with this one, in that musically it's such an easily digestible song, but lyrically it's quite devastating. I think Finn does a great job employing that contrast here to great effect.

As promised, here is my full playlist intended as an introduction to Love Ghost. I've also put together a YouTube version should you prefer that platform.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! There is so much more to explore and I had some tough choices to make to narrow it down this much.

This has genuinely been an eye opening and thoroughly enjoyable experience for me. I'm so excited for the tour, November can't roll around fast enough!

You can find out more about Love Ghost, as well as purchase some really nice merch, on the official website. The music is available on all major streaming platforms as well as videos on the Love Ghost YouTube channel.