Ghosts of Torrez - 'The Wailing'

Ghosts of Torrez love a good pun and that alone means you should give ‘The Legend of Billy the Whale’,the band’s new charming and meditative single, a listen. 

Ghosts of Torrez’s new single, ‘The Wailing’, and its accompanying video depicts what the band have titled ‘The Legend of Billy the Whale’ – and there’s where that pun comes in. The video’s simplistic manga style of sea creatures great and small is played along side Ghost of Torrez’s serene tapestry of sounds. The crooning cries of the eponymous Billy fade into soft, echo-pedalled guitars, drifting like the ripples and waves of the great ocean. As more creatures are introduced – turtles, fish, deformed and ghoulish-looking humans – the instrumentation grows and builds, each life form being given its own audible motif. 

There is a low tempo but a gradual crescendo that gives this track the perfect balance of calming and meditative, but exciting enough to remain invested and engaged. The absence of lyrical content leaves an appropriate negative space for listeners to envision rich Japanese waters, teeming with wildlife. The combination of epic, rumbling synths, drifting, soft guitars, and echoing drums combines into an ecosystem that is a treat for the ears. 

Overall, this somewhat unexpected track could provide you with some much-needed minutes of peace and reflection. Plus, whale noises are supposed to be calming, right?

Words by Natasha McMeekin

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