There’s something quite admirable about a guy who sets out to create uncompromising shoegaze worship. At least that was my first thought when I came across this project by Travis Estes.
First off, it would be wrong to say that this is the first time I’ve heard shoegaze in Christian music. Many worship bands today, have a way of mixing shoegaze, ambient and post-rock elements into their production to give the songs a desired atmospheric feel.
Still, this is the first time in recent years that I have heard it (shoegaze) be at the heart of the music rather than being a passenger along for the ride.
Ghost Riot kicks off with ‘Make Me’ and right off the bat you can hear the ambience laden into the guitars in the background while the bass guitar and the kick drum drive the song forward. The song builds steadily into a droning chorus.
The lo-fi production and the mixing of Estes’ voice take the attention away from the vocals, but it works quite well for this EP.
At its heart, ‘High As Heaven’ is an emo alternative rock song with all the emotions that usually come with that. The droning guitars and the beautiful vocal harmonies flow into each other in interesting ways.
‘Come What May’ is a song that speaks about the sovereignty of God. It’s quite progressive in nature, with mellow guitar work filling up most of the runtime as it builds into a distorting crescendo.
Lyrically, ‘All Hail The King’ is the most expressive song. With powerful lyrics like, “…heaven and earth will pass away, but your word will remain, everlasting and unafraid…our empires will fall to flames, all hail the king”, this reminds Christians of the only kingdom that truly matters — the kingdom of God and the coming reign of Christ Jesus.
‘Unsetting Sun’ brings this journey to a satisfying close. It is my favourite song on the EP, as I believe it presents a balanced view of all the best things about Ghost Riot. It’s not as heavy on the distortions as the first two tracks, as calming as the third or as lyrically dense as the fourth; but it has just enough of everything to be the perfect closer for the EP.
To put it simply, this is one of the more unique worship EPs of the modern era. It is produced intricately with subtle details that make it perfect for repeated listens.
These days, Travis Estes is busy with his other project Daygraves — a blackgaze/atmospheric black metal band that is also great to listen to.
Still, I am patiently waiting to hear what’s next for Medical Morning because Ghost Riot is an appetizer that’s worth its weight in gold.
Tags: Shoegaze, Ambient, Post-Rock
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That’s it for today.
Until next time.
Keep listening!
This is awesome. I was thinking specifically about this genre and if I'd see it in Christian music so I'm glad to be able to read this! I'm looking forward to trying this EP.