By Stan Cierlitsky
If you were ever a fan of Frightened Rabbit or of emotionally-driven Glasgow indie rock you need to listen to the new Haiver album called The Ghost Dance. Haiver is led by Billy Kennedy, a longtime member of Frightened Rabbit, who mainly played lead guitars and bass. Their debut album The Ghost Dance is self-released and can be found on Bandcamp or other streaming sites. It's out now.
It'ss just amazing to me to hear an album that sounds so much like Frightened Rabbit after all this time. Frightened Rabbit ended in 2018 with the suicide of frontman Scott Hutchison. Kennedy explores Hutchison's passing in the song "Funeral", which starts incredibly slow and sad. "Slower paced darker days life goes on without you," sings Kennedy. This song is chilling and raw especially for anyone that has experienced loss like this. To me the best part of this song is how it builds and soars at the end. It culminates in a feeling of hope, optimism, and an awareness of the basic fact that life must go on.
And that's certainly a main theme that Haiver seems to be delivering on this album. Yes, the music is similar to Frightened Rabbit, and yes, Kennedy sounds eerily like Hutchison at times, but the difference is that in Haiver's songs we're finding a hopeful optimism that, sadly, was harder to find in Hutchison's songs.
There are so many incredible songs on this album, and like with Frightened Rabbit, there are slow-burning songs as well as soaring anthems. One of the best anthems on "The Ghost Dance" is the song that follows "Funeral" called "Better (featuring Devin Casson)". "I pray that tomorrow I wake up better, free from the devil's hands, escaped from this weathered land," go the lyrics.
I have to believe that "Love to Hate" was conceived back when Frightened Rabbit was still a band. It feels like it would be perfectly placed on 2010's Winter of Mixed Drinks. Of the anthem-style songs, my favorite would have to be "Held" as it just builds and builds perfectly with soaring guitars. The lyrics are memorable too:
"I held my ear against the wall
I heard you screaming
I heard you sob
He was laughing
I heard it all."
These lyrics, which are a bit darker, remind me a little of early We Were Promised Jetpacks too.
The slower songs on the album are some of the best and most bittersweet. I already mentioned "Funeral", but there are others. "So Slow" is such a beautiful song, and the guitar in "Give" immediately reminded me of of "Poke" by Frightened Rabbit.
I am so grateful for this album, and you will surely see it high on my year-end list. It's a perfect album for Frightened Rabbit fans still processing that band's sad and tragic end, and a perfect album for anyone trying to find hope and optimism from difficult and tragic times.
The Ghost Dance by Haiver is out now. Details below.
[Photo: Simon Murphy]