With the release of new single “Like A Ghost”, it seems like The Last Martyr have made a significant step up as a band! Following on from their EP Creatrix, the new single comes to my ears feeling far more cohesive and connected than what I’d previously heard from the collective.
This unity amps up the strength of what’s being shared, and may be due to The Last Martyr having Chris Lalic (Windwaker) on board for recording, mixing, and mastering. Whatever it is that the Melbourne band are doing, they should keep on doing it, because it’s clearly working for them! “Like a Ghost” strongly showcases what Monica Strut (vocals), Ben Rogers (guitar), Matthew Mumford (bass), and Vin Krishnan (drums) have to say, and flows easily as a song as well as being an energetic and intriguing piece of music.
Appealing riffs hook from the beginning of the new track, pulling the listener up close and personal for the lyrical story to unfold. From an ominous atmosphere of heavy piano tones and technical guitar unease, “Like a Ghost” progresses into a fierce and bouncy sound.
At times coming across wilty and dreamy as vocals reveal themselves then fade behind slamming beats, the stage is shared across band members, with forces joining together at the chorus. By way of the chorus, I can’t say whether it’s the vocal rhythms or the word choices, it goes down easily, with technical guitar as the icing on top.
With this fresh track and the sonic spaces it explores over its duration, The Last Martyr are revealing themselves as fully capable of deftly blending dense and technical heaviness and easy melodic peaks. The music video (created by the band with D.O. Blackley) just adds to this, working well as a great blend of story/performance/art, using a combination of imagery to share the mood as the song progresses.
What else can I say? It all just works! Watch “Like a Ghost” below.
