GHOST - Popestar
November 29, 2016, 8 years ago
(Loma Vista)
The hosts with the most Ghost are back with this little EP featuring one original track along with four cover tunes. The new song, “Square Hammer”, is incredibly catchy and shows that Ghost had no problem embracing the poppy nature of their retro sound. The bouncy keys along with that chorus will jump around in your head for days.
The cover choices are certainly an interesting batch with the Swedes being ironic choosing songs with religious titles despite the fact they employ satanic imagery. The best of the bunch is the Echo And The Bunny Men cover “Nocturnal Me” with the haunting aesthetic complementing the ascending guitar part.
The rest of the cover are some odd choices, like Simian Mobile Disco’s “I Believe” along with the tongue-in-cheek Eurythmics track “Missionary Man” and the Imperiet tune “Bible”. “I Believe” just drones on and while “Missionary Man” is good for a couple laughs; it quickly wears out its welcome. “Bible” has an anthemic vibe crying out to the heavens (or hell maybe?), but overall goes on longer than it should. Make no mistake, “Square Hammer” is the highlight of Popestar and if it was included on Meliora, it would have made a strong record even better.
