Waterslide Records/Monster Zero, 19 August, 2020
The MSGS remember the 90’s and keep the songs hook-laden and fun.
Fukuoka, Japan’s The MSGS have been kicking around for a few years and have been pretty busy, dropping a couple of EP’s and a previous full-length called Chuck. Ghost is their newest record and it’s pretty loaded with melodic pop punk songs that are sure to ring true.
The MSGS channel lots of 90’s sounds, slathering the songs with bouncy quick drums, buzzing rhythm guitars and some fuzz-drenched leads, and catchy melodic vocal hooks that are high in the mix and sound really good. Opener “September Sky” and closer “Ray Gun” both give off Lemonheads vibes. The guitars on each pull out some great hooks and awesome driving drums and the “on and on and on and on” part of “September Sky” is catchy as all get-out. “Ray Gun” also has some awesome harmonies and some cool lead guitar. Elsewhere, “Home” has a cool breakdown and drums that completely destroy everything (in a good way) with fills and crashes. It reminds me of something like Overwhelming Colorfast. There’s maybe a little Descendents/All thing going on this one (and a few of the others, too, for that matter). And the vocal cadence on “Tarantula” worms into your head and stays put for a while with more good harmonies popping up again. It’s a bunch of good catchy buzzing punk stuff.
Some other songs on Ghost go mid-tempo, digging a bit more into the alternative 90’s thing. For instance, “Victoria” opens with a cool bass lead in and sounds like it could be lifted from a Pixies record. There’s some cool melancholy going on and a pensive, solemn sort of melody. Plus, it’s got maybe my favorite lyric on the record with the line “don’t waste my time, when you cut me down to size”. Another song, “Alison”, reminds me of even softer stuff from the 90’s – I’m thinking something like Gin Blossoms. But it works because of the catchy hooks and some fun bouncy drums that add some fireworks. This one ends up being one of my favorites on the record.
There’s all sorts of 90’s nostalgia on Ghost, and having grown up in the 90’s, I dig it. The hooks run deep, the melodies are sticky, and the songs drive and bounce, with many of the songs sticking around way past the record’s end. It’s way cool, a record worth checking out.
Favorite song: “September Sky”
Favorite moment: the tumbling drums around the 2-minute mark of “Home”, followed by a cool fuzzy guitar lead to close out the song
Favorite whatever else: “Everlong” is the best (and only) song on here with a song title shared with Foo Fighters
ryan is a reviewer and news editor for TGEFM. He’s very secretive, he might be an alien.
