Ghostpoet Dark Days And Canapés

Ghostpoet is one of those artists who always seems to carry with him an unwavering, and deserved, level of respect, both from peers and critics alike. This fourth album sees the Londoner (now based in Margate) develop his sound again to a more instrumental-based backdrop. ‘Many Moods At Midnight’ is darkly epic, with a foreboding musical bed of piano and dark guitar, and this closed-in feeling is reflected in songs like ‘Karoshi’.

There are unexpected moments of simple beauty, too, as on the sad strings and quiet melancholy of ‘Blind As A Bat’. The lyrics are in keeping with their musical bedrock – ‘End Times’ sees Obaro Ejimiwe opine that “it won’t go away swallowing these pills”. The album has a nearly static pace. At times this slowly builds the atmosphere, at others it means it feels a touch flat. But you couldn’t describe this music as low key; rather, it’s consistently dark, claustrophobic and gripping. There are often glimpses of a waiting flood of climactic noise, but only a little seeps through; it’s a feeling of power, only just kept in check by a guy out there on his own.