Every once in a while, you stumble upon something that you really are so happy you took a chance with; and it changes your musical listening direction 180 degrees. That is what the experience of hearing Anna Carolina’s voice for the first time on her new album from Her Shadow, The Ghost Love Chronicles, is like.
The last time it happened to me was earlier this year with Maiah Wynne, and Envy of None’s new debut album. Before that, it was Natasha Khan, of Bat for Lashes’ latest release Lost Girls. They all have one thing in common, voices that stand out, and hypnotize you into listening to every song, and every note, as if you are going to lose something, or maybe never hear anything like it again. I crave that experience. To hear something so special and so different, it can hardly be measured or compared.
So, sit back and let me tell you more. The Ghost Love Chronicles, knocked me back and I did not stop listening to the album, until it finished. Usually, I try to review an album song by song. This album, like Envy of None, had to be heard in its entirety first. Like we used to back in the 1970s. It really is that special. You will not want to interrupt its rhythm or theme.
Let me tell you a little more about the artists and background to this album, before we discuss it in more depth. Her Shadow is made up of Anna Carolina, who sings lead vocals; Tomi Henttunen, plays guitar, bass, and keyboards; Markus Laakso, plays keyboards, and sings backing vocals; Toni Ronkainen, plays drums and percussion; Harri Hyvönen, plays live bass; and Otto Daavitsainen, plays live guitar.
Her Shadow was created by old friends from the bands Royal Lips and Kuolemanlaakso. They decided to create music which brought together their love of film noir; especially Twin Peaks, and the music of Lana Del Rey. They only needed the voice of an enigmatic singer. They chose Anna Carolina, also from the band Royal Lips. She looks and sings like Deborah Harry, at her sexiest, with a touch of Lana Del Rey, from her debut album. They instantly got signed to Svart Records, and started working on their debut album. After five long years of hard work, their magnificent creation is finally ready to be released on November 11, 2022.
Her Shadow’s music is not prog, but it is progressive in the way that it challenges current pop, rock and progressive music to alter its common sounds and add new dimensions and ideas to their sometime predictable formats. It The Ghost Love Chronicles is cinematic and at times symphonic. The music is full of emotion and visual qualities often missed in today’s music. It is full of a life of its own, and it has a living, vivacious sound which absolutely differentiates it from anything else produced this year, or for a while, for that matter. Her Shadow’s The Ghost Love Chronicles offers dreamy pop music with, as their press release states, “moonlight melodies, heavenly hooks and Lynchian twists”. “The ethereal soundscapes come to life in a dream noir universe oozing with catchy choruses, Morricone motifs and vintage sounds interweave with state-of-the-art production”.
Every song on this album is magical, and an experience to explore. If I had to chose my favorites, they would be: “Fifth Season”; an almost ode, to all the streaming movies and shows we are forced to watch, with commercials and release date breaks, instead of allowing us to sit through a one-to-three-hour film of the same, more concise material.
The wonderful, slow guitar and keyboards that open “Raging Blue”, are like a theme that should have been the opening track for Hitchcock’s Vertigo. The blazing electric guitar is smashing. The drums…priceless; as they are throughout this album.
“White Lane” sounds a little like some of Envy of None’s album, with a much darker twist.
“So Close”, opens with Anna Carolina singing, “The waves keep washing me”. The music is deep and melodic. Carolina sings, “When I rest in the sea. I am free. Please forgive me. Forgive me for not being strong enough. Shining in the light of the Moon”.
“Kinda Love You”, has a nice girly vocal sound to it. Anna Carolina shines bright on this showcase song.
“Poison Moon”, has that symphonic orchestration and cinematic quality to it which makes it a definite standout. Carolina singing, “Swim with the Moon”, with an almost choir surrounding her. Just amazing.
“Vigilante”, is full of movie western spunk.
“The Age of Velvet”, echoes, with some of the best guitar on the album, and Anna Carolina singing, “The essence of rain”, and “we don’t care”.
The best song, by a long shot is “What Hides in the Dark”. It contains Anna Carolina’s heavy breathing and beckoning, “You should run!” The electric guitar work is exceptional and exemplary. Otherworldly, music that would make Stephen King or Tim Burton smile. When the pace picks up, look out. That is when it really gets interesting. The heavy drumming is immaculate. The Chameleons-like guitar shredding is wonderful. The keyboards and orchestration are alive with fire.
As they say in their press release, “Slip into something comfortable, open the doors of your perception and enter realm of Her Shadow”.
The Ghost Love Chronicles was produced by musical and visual mastermind Henttunen, mixed by Sampsa Väätäinen, (Ismo Alanko, Neøv etc.), and mastered by Jaime Gomez Arellano, (Ghost, Paradise Lost, Opeth etc.), at the world renowned Orgone Studios.
Track List
- Fifth Season – 4:37
- Raging Blue – 6:32
- White Lane – 3:29
- So Close – 4:46
- Devil Inside – 5:01
- Kinda Love You – 4:08
- Poisoned Moon – 5:25
- Vigilante – 5:52
- The Age of Velvet – 5:53
- What Hides in The Dark – 13:06