Pages

Sunday, March 15, 2026

Ghost Cult and the avant-garde emotional aches and collage constructions of "Half Loose Teeth"

 

"I won't live twice I can't live for more / I can't give no I won't give too much / Frozen eyes float right behind each moment / Half loose teeth and 14 aching bones..."



The avant-garde emotional aches and collage constructions of "Half Loose Teeth" by Memphis- Tennessee's Ghost Cult, and from their recently released full length "Oh Well", is so exquisitely crafted as to feel indie timeless. I am loving the way this song is constructed, the throttling bass lines, the 4/4 drum beat that seems to effortlessly shift to 7/8 (and back) that pushes you off curbs in the dark, the guitar layers from chunky staccato distortions to beautifully falling guitars lines, to dramatic sparse breaks and heavy sludgy alt rock moments and, AND, bassist Alex Hardberger's vocal countenance full of wails and introspection. The aesthetic here, the abstract storytelling, is so damn unique that coming up with adjacent artists is not easy but I have to say that artistically / attitudinally this feels both progressive and abstract and I thought of Pere Ubu ( circa 1985 compilation album "Terminal Tower") and Mission of Burma (circa "Signals, Calls and Marches" - 1981) and this is, as Andy Sandberg doing his best Nicolas Cage impersonation, "high praise, HIGH praise" indeed. 

"Half Loose Teeth" is the first track off Ghost Cult's new album "Oh Well" that dropped on February 13th of this year (2026). Ghost Cult is comprised of the aforementioned Alex Hardberger (vocals / bass), rounded out by Dace Ruthven on drums, Brad Davis on guitar / keys and Ben Yarbrough on guitar. 

-Robb Donker Curtius


LYRICS

I won't live twice I can't live for more
I can't give no I won't give too much
Frozen eyes float right behind each moment
Half loose teeth and 14 aching bones

Did you hear the rumor mill has spun
Who will live? What's hidden in the trunk?
missing blood in pockets how corrupt
Lesson learned no justice to speak of

And yeah
That's it
No friends
No kids
No friends

And it's just a part
Breaking your face for good times
And it's just a part
Click jawed and braced for all time
And it's just your card
Feel every ache at all times

Days pass all through bus rides 
cracked lines snow piled 
drowning height

Fresh breath breakneck 
mixed for white pants 
hell child it's all mine





The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!




THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 





We are not a cult. We are a band.




Ghost Cult, prog rock, art rock, alt rock, indie rock, Memphis Tennessee, abstract rock, swapping time signatures, "Half Loose Teeth", new album "Oh Well", 80's / 90's experimental rock, vocalist Alex Hardberger,

No comments:

Post a Comment