Ginger Wildheart - Ghost In The Tanglewood (Graphite Records)
LP / CD / DL
Out Now 8 / 10
Review by Jay.
‘The Daylight Hotel’ opens like The Levellers and The Proclaimers having a massive party with The Bluebells with its jangling euphoric guitars and thumping bass drum. Ginger’s voice really blasts it into the sky with some lush harmonies and it’s surprising it isn’t littering the radio stations already. The slide guitar in the background is a gorgeous addition to a perfect opening track. There’s a bit of a country and folk vibe about this album so far and ‘Pay It Forward’ is clearly no stranger to the rolling tumbleweed of Nashville but it’s the heartfelt, compassionate lyrics that really bring this track into the light; ‘It only take one person to teach / One person to reach / One person to help them along / By making this chain you’re paying it forward”. Inspiring and important messages like this are always a great thing in uplifting songs and here we have exactly that.
‘Golden Tears’ mixes modern ideas with a really old school folk sound covered with acoustics and electric bass, fiddles and a really heavy Irish atmosphere worthy of anyone’s dancing feet and clinking glasses. This could be the anthem of primary schools the world over with the uplifting message of building your courage and we salute you Ginger Wildheart for writing such a catchy and passionate song.
‘Phantom Memories’ could be straight out of a Disney film or big budget romantic love story. It has a grand, anthemic and richly produced sound that soars high over the clouds and away over the horizon. It’s a nice transition into ‘Minus You’ which carries on with the rootsy folk mood and could have come from the mind of Mike Harding or The Pogues if it weren’t for the luscious slide guitar slinking around in the background. This is a very pensive, deeply felt album filled with authenticity and love rarely seen in modern music. ‘Remains’ is a much softer and reflective song than any of the ones we’ve heard so far on the album and as short as it is, it leaves you with a nice warm feeling inside ready for ‘The Words Are Gonna Have To Wait’ to come bounding in like a Country classic. ‘I Could Have Cared For You’ is like listening to a country christmas and closes the album nicely on a high (or low) depending on how you interpret the bittersweet lyrics and bouncing, super catchy chorus.
‘Ghost In The Tanglewood’ is the kind of album that you’ll put on when you want to drink to the good times. It’s the album you’ll put on when you want to dance, when you want to smile and feel loved. It’s definitely an album for Country and Folk fans but also a great initiation into the world of Ginger Wildheart and well worth chucking onto your stereo and listening to with your friends and lovers. Not only that, the tracks are all pretty much under 3 minutes so even though it makes the album feel short, it’s a great journey.
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