Ghost Wave
Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand | Established. Jan 01, 2014 | INDIE | AFTRA
Music
Press
Ghost Wave are from Auckland, New Zealand, and not, as it may seem, an Indie Band Name Generator c. 2008. They arrive stateside smelling of sunscreen and sativa a couple of months after their debut LP Ages was released in their home country on Arch Hill. For their U.S. and European release, the quartet partnered with New Zealand's storied Flying Nun Records, the provenance of many of the sounds that hover around Ghost Wave’s sunny psych-pop tunes. Led by singer/guitarist Matthew Paul, the quartet writes songs for a real summer’s summer, one of those idyllic ones you see in faded photos from the 60s with surfboards and oversized sunglasses. On Ages, there’s hardly a shadow, just propulsive garage-rock tunes, heaps of guitars, all mid-tempo everything. It’s able, often innovative, and certainly repetitive.
“Repetitive” usually isn’t a pejorative word in music-- especially in the garage/psych world, it’s either an aesthetic or a given-- but here it speaks to the ceaseless tone Ghost Wave strike on the record. They're comparable to some bands on Captured Tracks, who incidentally partnered with Flying Nun just before this release, making Ages the first record released on Flying Nun since the two joined forces. Captured Tracks serves as a good pivot point for Ghost Wave. On one side there’s DIIV and Wild Nothing living in the damp ethereal plane, focusing on the bluer strains of introverted thought. Then there's Ghost Wave, who conduct their business in the sun-- Matthew Paul wants all those road-trips and lazy afternoons spent smoking cigarettes in front of the gas station to stretch out like saltwater taffy. Half the time he’s shedding his many UK garage and Kiwi pop influences to carve out a real identity for Ghost Wave. The other half, he sounds as anonymous as their name.
It opens strongly, the first four songs working less like individual tracks and more like a four-part movement that carries you away on a wave of simple three-chord kraut grooves and saccharine, dudded-up garage rock. It’s all theme and recapitulation over the kind of minimalist forms their forebears the Clean and Loaded-era Velvet Underground minted (Clean member Thomas Bell engineered and mixed the record in Dunedin, NZ). It’s everywhere on “I Don’t Mind”, which slops around in a few blues riffs while Paul smirks out words often prefixed by a supremely cool “ooo” or “yeah.”
The song bleeds into the back-to-back album highlights, first with the escapist anthem “Country Rider”, a song that struts around a two chord jam that finds more and more guitars folding over each other. The other highlight, the five-minute instrumental “Arkestra”, serves more as a reprise of the previous song-- a continuation of a thought without dropping the energy. "Arkestra" defines the record’s plot: just keep on going. Paul’s songs often find him dissatisfied with stillness, so he gets eager when there’s girls coming, and spends time running not walking, shaking down empty streets, and getting out to the country. As the first half of the record comes to a close with a heavier “Marquee Moon” kind of jam, it feels like this trip could never end. - Pitchfork
VICE Premieres Video for "Here She Comes" - VICE
Indie Shuffle Premieres Ghost Wave's first single from their forthcoming debut LP - Indie Shuffle
Ghost Wave are one of those rare new bands that already knows exactly what they want. The last time we heard this much rookie talent from Auckland, New Zealand, it came in the form of The Naked & Famous, and we all know how that turned out (well. very well.). On debut single "Sunsetter", The Wave set their sights high and aim straight for anthem status, constructing two and a half minutes of sunkissed 70's bliss around a massive Dandy Warhols lick that hides in the crosshairs of Deerhunter and Tame Impala. - Neon Gold Records Blog
Ghost Wave are a trio of New Zealanders with a name-appropriate knack for surfy rock that deftly toes a darker edge, not to mention just a general knack for unrelentingly catchy riffage: if either of these things sound at all good to you, check out their newest single “Hippy.”
Heavily distorted, chugging guitars don’t mask a simple but smart shimmery riff that sounds like sun glinting off the water, nor those laid-back, day-drunk vocals – we want everything out of our minds too, dude.
Here’s 2012’s invincible lo-fi summer jam, the one that fits the fireworks and the too-fast driving. Turn it up. - Pretty Much Amazing
Been dreamin' all week to this perfectly-penned pop from Auckland New Zealand duo Ghost Wave, who, I'm guessing, have been listening to a lot of early 90s Clean and other golden Flying Nun nuggets (Bats/Goblin Mix/The Exploding Budgies) recently, or perhaps they just went on a sunny drive and forest walk because this track pretty much sounds like that. I'm not much of a patriot at all but this is seriously SO NEW ZEALAND and I love it; lackadaisical sweetness, dusty windscreens, "everything is alright", for sure. - ROSE QUARTZ
Been dreamin' all week to this perfectly-penned pop from Auckland New Zealand duo Ghost Wave, who, I'm guessing, have been listening to a lot of early 90s Clean and other golden Flying Nun nuggets (Bats/Goblin Mix/The Exploding Budgies) recently, or perhaps they just went on a sunny drive and forest walk because this track pretty much sounds like that. I'm not much of a patriot at all but this is seriously SO NEW ZEALAND and I love it; lackadaisical sweetness, dusty windscreens, "everything is alright", for sure. - ROSE QUARTZ
Matt lives in Auckland. He used to make bliss-out jams in Street Beat, you may have seen him as recently as last month under the moniker, playing alongside Dear Time’s Waste on their NZ tour. However, following the tour, he’s decided to ditch the name for Ghost Wave, which is probs waaaay more befitting of his ethereal pulse vibes – his music isn’t so much beats as it is layers, taking cues from usual suspects like Person Pitch and putting it all through an Ariel Pink AM radio filter, resulting in some pretty amazing dream loops, pretty isolated / desolate, sure, but still managing to convey positive summer vibes. Sooli’s electronic birdcall opening descends into looped minimalist clatter, and comes off as far more, well organic I guess, than the sum of it’s parts. It’s a really natural feel that seems pretty synonymous with his work as Street Beat. In addition to that, here’s a jam which, from what I can gather, is a demo ahead of a forthcoming full-length, and one of the first tracks recorded as Ghost Wave. It carries way more urgency (not to mention more of a beat), live drumming carrying the decidedly more spooked sunshine tendencies along it’s way. ANYWAY, with a blog-friendly name (amirite?) like Ghost Wave, a possible full band on the way, and more hazy looped goodness like this spilling out of local areas (oh hey whassup Signer), hopefully Ghost Wave will be a name we get to hear wayy more often. - The Kitchen Sink
Matt lives in Auckland. He used to make bliss-out jams in Street Beat, you may have seen him as recently as last month under the moniker, playing alongside Dear Time’s Waste on their NZ tour. However, following the tour, he’s decided to ditch the name for Ghost Wave, which is probs waaaay more befitting of his ethereal pulse vibes – his music isn’t so much beats as it is layers, taking cues from usual suspects like Person Pitch and putting it all through an Ariel Pink AM radio filter, resulting in some pretty amazing dream loops, pretty isolated / desolate, sure, but still managing to convey positive summer vibes. Sooli’s electronic birdcall opening descends into looped minimalist clatter, and comes off as far more, well organic I guess, than the sum of it’s parts. It’s a really natural feel that seems pretty synonymous with his work as Street Beat. In addition to that, here’s a jam which, from what I can gather, is a demo ahead of a forthcoming full-length, and one of the first tracks recorded as Ghost Wave. It carries way more urgency (not to mention more of a beat), live drumming carrying the decidedly more spooked sunshine tendencies along it’s way. ANYWAY, with a blog-friendly name (amirite?) like Ghost Wave, a possible full band on the way, and more hazy looped goodness like this spilling out of local areas (oh hey whassup Signer), hopefully Ghost Wave will be a name we get to hear wayy more often. - The Kitchen Sink
Discography
Ghost Wave EP (Arch Hill Recordings)
'Ages' (Flying Nun Records)
Radio Norfolk (Flying Nun Records)
Photos
Bio
New Zealand’s Ghost Wave return with their sophomore album Radio Norfolk.
Following on from 2013’s Ages the groups’ latest sees the duo explore deeper into their psychedelic sound, while adding a more electronic focus to their sunny warped songs that mix the sound of Flying Nun bands of the ‘80s, the British explosion of the ‘60s and the wayfaring dubs of Lee "Scratch" Perry. On top of this, they aptly brought on the talents of Spaceman 3’s Sonic Boom to master the record.
From the lead single, Blues Signal ’79 on, Radio Norfolk is a series of trippy, psych hooks filled with clashes of keys, organs, and percussion.
Ghost Wave started life in 2012 as the brainchild of Matthew L. Paul (Vocals, Guitar). What was a initially a project relegated to a small room in Auckland, New Zealand over time the sonic chemistry he was cooking up caught the attention of fellow music maker and soon-to-be collaborator Eammon Logan (Drums). Together they self-recorded what came to be their self-titled EP and followed this up with 2013’s debut album Ages.
Inspired by skate vids, persian rugs and the music of Little Richard, you could simply characterize Ghost Wave by jangly guitars underpinned by motor-style rhythms and a unique melodic sensibility. Yet, with Radio Norfolk they have gone further than that, creating something even more captivating and intriguing. In their own words it’s “ …the countdown to the meltdown.”
After delivering an impressive first collection of songs, Ghost
Wave was increasingly drawn to their rehearsal space and studio rather than the
stage. The group mounted a stockpile of new songs and demos. Shy and often somewhat
reclusive, the band was in uncharted territory when they left their studio and the
live show took shape. While playing shows and parties around their hometown,
the band started to gain local attention and soon the acclaim of international
tastemaker blog, Neon Gold. Praising the first single from their self-titled
EP, Neon Gold proclaimed that ‘Sunsetter, “two and a half minutes of sun kissed
70’s bliss,” is a song of “anthem status.” The blog drew sonic comparisons from
the likes of Dandy Warhols, to Deerhunter and Tame Impala. Pretty Much Amazing
expressed early support for the band, premiering single “Hippy” and describing
it as an “invincible lo-fi
summer jam, the one that fits the fireworks and the too-fast driving.”
With some early praise in their pockets and a quickly developing catalog of work, Ghost Wave traveled to the U.S. for shows in New York, Los Angeles and a showing at CMJ. Ghost Wave returned to the U.S. several months later for appearances at 35 Denton Festival and SXSW; showcasing even more new songs along with an updated live configuration. Shortly after, the band caught the attention of Flying Nun Records; a home to many bands that Ghost Wave proudly acknowledge as influences. Flying Nun Records recently partnered with Brooklyn-based label: Captured Tracks (DIIV, Mac DeMarco). Ghost Wave’s Ages will be the first release from the seminal New Zealand label since partnering with Captured Tracks.
‘Here She Comes’ is the first single from the forthcoming LP and “Over the course of its 3 minutes and 23 seconds, the Auckland-based quartet layer laid-back and nonchalant vocals over jangly guitars and an upbeat bassline. Supported by a boisterous drumbeat,” says Indie Shuffle. ‘Here She Comes’ is one of ten tracks all recorded and self-produced in various studios around Auckland, New Zealand in six days. Thomas Bell (The Clean) engineered and mixed the record. In describing their new record lead singer and guitarist, Matthew L. Paul notes that it is a departure from the sunny sounds of their debut EP: “There is a kind of amphetamine-like feel to this record. I think, in terms of the way the songs are played, we were less interested in loud/soft and wanted to create a mechanic type sound and song-presence.”
Ghost Wave’s debut full-length, Ages, is out now on Flying Nun Records. The response to the record has been building since Pitchfork premiered the advance stream of the record. KUTX selected their track “Bootlegs” as their “Song of the Day”, KCRW picked them as an “Artist You Should Know” and KEXP has added the band to their rotation.
Ghost Wave returned to the U.S. in October 2013 with an updated 5-piece configuration now featuring Andy Frost (percussion). The band performed at Culture Collide Festival in Los Angeles and the CMJ Music Marathon in New York City to much critical acclaim.
Band Members
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