Husky Rescue - Ghost is Not Real

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 23 / 3 / 2007

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Review

After checking out the lead single for this album late last year, I was intrigued to hear more from mellow Scandinavians Husky Rescue. When the chance came to have a listen to the full album I jumped at the chance, eager on the basis of just that one song, ‘Diamonds in the Sky’ to see what else they would have to offer. That lead single was an extremely dreamy affair with nods to the likes of Morcheeba and Bjork. The album continues in the same vein, but also throws in a few surprises along the way. Husky Rescue do produce the type of music which you could drift into a trance listening to. This can often mean that all the songs end up sounding the same and you forget which is which. ‘Ghost is Not Real’ manages to steer well away from this ,keeping the momentum going when it has to, but leaving plenty of room at the same time for the swooning synths and sound effects which appear throughout the course of the album. Opener‘ My home Host’ is a typically relaxed tune. It drifts perfectly into the previously mentioned ‘Diamonds in the Sky’. Both of these tracks seem to have the definitive sound of Husky Rescue. ‘Nightless Night’, the third track, is where you start to realise that the band are more than just something to put on when you’re going to bed or trying to chill out. It is more akin to the Cardigans or an upbeat Brit pop number. While this song could end about 3 minutes and leave you with a catchy little poppy rock number, it carries on into a mini jam session taking the song to a whole new level with a gentle wall of sound tripping along until it drops back into a final chorus. It’s this willingness to be experimental which makes me like this band so much. You have to admire a band that out of ten songs on album have three that are Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the same thing, as in the case of ‘Blueberry Tree'. They could easily sound like some strange Viking hippies, but manage to pull if off much in the same way that Pink Floyd have done on several of their albums, featuring songs which should seem endless but instead take you on a journey. 'Ghost is Not Real' sounds like the aural equivalent of what I would imagine it would be like floating through a mystical Scandinavian forest while on magic mushrooms. There is something very otherworldly about this music. The album comes to an end with ‘Caravan’ which blends the ambient sounds which occur throughout the entire album with the more up beat moments which crop up throughout more sporadically. This song really captures the band in all their forms. If I was quizzed on one song to recommend if someone was wanting to hear a ‘defining song’ from the album, this would be it.

Track Listing:-

1 My Home Ghost
2 Diamonds in the Sky
3 Nightless Night
4 Blueberry Tree Part 1
5 Blueberry Tree Part 2
6 Blueberry Tree Part 3
7 Hurricane (Don't Come Knocking)
8 Silent Woods
9 Shadow Run
10 Caravan
11 Poison
12 Diamonds in the Sky (Radio Edit)
13 Diamonds in the Sky (Emperor Machine Remix)
14 Diamonds in the Sky (Tuung Remix)
15 Diamonds in the Sky (Deaf Stereo Remix)
16 Diamonds in the Sky (Emperor Machine Dub)
17 Nightless Night (Radio Edit)
18 Nightless Night (Fink Remix)
19 Nightless Night (Justus Kohncke Remix)
20 Nightless Night (Black Grass Remix)
21 Caravan (Radio Edit)
22 Caravan (Serge Santiago Version)
23 Shadow Run (Arveene & Misk's 28 Day Detox Splatter Mix)
24 My Home Ghost (Instrumental)
25 Diamonds in the Sky (Instrumental)
26 Nightless Night (Instrumental)
27 Blueberry Tree Part 1 (Instrumental)
28 Blueberry Tree Part 2 (Instrumental)
29 Blueberry Tree Part 3 (Instrumental)
30 Hurricane (Don't Come Knocking) (Instrumental)
31 Silent Woods (Instrumental)
32 Shadow Run (Instrumental)
33 Caravan (Instrumental)

Band Links:-

http://www.husky-rescue.com/
https://www.facebook.com/huskyrescueof
https://twitter.com/huskyrescuehq
https://www.youtube.com/user/huskyresc
https://soundcloud.com/husky-rescue
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Husky_Res

Label Links:-

http://www.catskillsmusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/catskillsreco
https://www.youtube.com/user/Sonorouss
http://www.last.fm/label/Catskills
https://twitter.com/CatskillsMusic