The Holy Ghosts is an act that has gained a lot of plaudits within the Scottish music scene; following from last year’s debut album, Manic Street Preacher Robin Wynn Evans was tasked with producing new EP End Of The World and Other Multifarious Destinations.
Opener ‘End Of The Line’ shows off some excellent country licks, while Jon Mackenzie shows off his often Jagger-esque voice; add in some impressive horn arrangements, and this proves to be an extremely strong opener.
‘Ties That Bind’ shows hints of The Band, and is probably the highlight of the EP, and is the best example of the expert production heard throughout.
The more rock sounding ‘Velvet Moon’ highlights the great musicianship and songwriting skills of The Holy Ghosts, the reasons why they have already shared the stage with household names such as Status Quo and The Proclaimers.
Closing with more traditional country song ‘Shot At Dawn’, this EP is a genuine flawless work; although it’d be easy list a huge number of influences throughout, that’d be doing the Edinburgh four-piece an injustice, although they have taken influence from a number of canonical acts, the release sounds far from derivative and provides a fresh take on Americana, something not usually expected within the Scottish music scene.
Words: Neil Hayton
