NEW ALBUM: Galapaghost – I Never Arrived
After having listened to the hauntingly beautiful and pretty melancholic Science of Lovers, the first single of Galapaghost‘s upcoming album, I have been waiting for the record to drop. A week ago, January 9th 2016, I could finally listen to all twelve songs on I Never Arrived, the third album of Casey Chandler, the singer/songwriter behind the Galapaghost project.
When he is not exchanging the US with Italy, Casey Chandler lives in Austin, TX. Yet currently, he’s touring Italy again and that’s also where he mixed and recorded I Never Arrived, with the help of his friend Federico Puttilli (Nàdar Solo).
I Never Arrived is a beautiful album, with emotions between being lost and found, with a smooth flow, each track telling its own little story and some tracks even come as a surprise (The Greatest Roommate for example). It’s mostly a toned-down, guitar focused record with plenty of really cool electronic-rock and/or electronic-pop touches. Add Casey Chandler’s velvety smooth, deep and charming vocals then you get an often downright alluring mix. Aside from the vocals, the guitar work on the album is exquisite too and so are the lyrics for which I selected a few of my favorite examples.
The beautifully melancholic yet upbeat tempo Salt Lake City tackles the ancient question, how to get a sweetheart’s love (back):
But who do I gotta be
And how do I gotta speak
And how do I gotta eat
And how do I gotta breathe
To make you love me
Mister Mediocrity immediately got me with its soft opening, and then the lyrics! They are self-reflective with a healthy dose of wit:
I wish I could scream like Kurt Cobain
Or maybe just invent a genre like him
I wish I could sing
Like Paul Simon can sing
Or maybe just name every chord that I play
When the song picks up steam, I realized that this is no longer a slow, dreamy guitar piece but a passionate, touching electronic number.
Well I’m not sure what I want
And I’m not sure what I need
But I wish that I just could believe in anything
Oh, and I bet Casey Chandler knows exactly each guitar chord he plays – no question about that, but listen for yourself:
The year is still young, and I Never Arrived is the perfect record if you decided to do a few things differently this time, like “I will listen to more self-produced singer/songwriter album”, because here is your chance!
Follow Galapaghost on Facebook, stream the album on SoundCloud and support the artist on Bandcamp or buy the album on iTunes. Personally, I hope to catch Galapaghost live when in Austin for SXSW 2016. More on that then…
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