Augusta electro duo forceghost earn their moniker by merging muscular grooves with radiant, atmospheric textures. Or at least that’s the impression I get when I iisten to “Birdies,” the new single from the pair’s upcoming debut EP, unknowing the known. Riding a slow-roiling bassline, the song doesn’t so much build as it undulates gradually from one movement to the next. Restraint is key. The track’s deliberate, unhurried tempo provides ample space for sound-layering, and it’s this latticework of ambient flourishes and subtle asides—combined with the dreamy, near deadpan vocals—that give “Birdies” its mesmeric thrust. Despite the measured pace, however, it’s almost too easy to get lost in the details. That is, until forceghost let off the brake and the song slowly erupts into a swirling kaleidoscope chorus.
Directed by Brian McGrath, the video offers the viewer a pair of narrative vignettes. First, we bear witness to a exasperated skateboarder who smashes his deck after continuously failing to land a trick. That is followed by footage of an equally frustrated writer who balls up sheet after sheet of unsatisfying work. The clip concludes with the author driving to a parking deck, forming the sheets into paper airplanes, and throwing them off the roof.
The metaphor here is one of pain and resentment versus surrender. Or, as the band puts it when asked to discuss the meaning behind “Birdies”—finding solace in letting go.
“The desire and need to fix broken things but realizing no one has this control over others,” says vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Eric Kinlaw. “Thinking back in the past about the many times you tried to do this and realizing you have to heal yourself first. It’s a simultaneous lament about accepting loss and creating your own salvation. In the end, you just have to let things go.”
Watch/listen above.
unknowing the known is out Mar. 1.
More Info
Web: forceghostmusic.com
Bandcamp: forceghost.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @forceghostmusic
Instagram: @forceghostmusic