THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Ghost Car, the London-based international punk quartet, have just released their debut album Truly Trash, a riotous, quick-witted collection of 11 garage-rock bangers.
The album provides Ghost Car with a platform to rage against political injustices, as their unified battle cries attack patriarchal inequality, homophobia, racism and toxic relationships. Truly Trash is a call to reclaim autonomy and to revolt against the powers that uphold an archaic nationalist system.
Right out the gate, Truly Trash makes its intentions clear. Riff-heavy ballad Terrible Feelings rises in raw intensity as group harmonies build toward a shoegaze noise-out, while follow-up Selfish, Spoiled uses frenzied synth to drag the sound in a ’60s psych direction. Call-and-response gang vocals permeate the entire record as back-to-back choruses keep energy levels at maximum, evident on Mechanical Soul, which boasts huge glam guitars and caustic drums of pure fury.
Of the eruptive Basta, singer-guitarist Maeve Henry tells us “It was written from the perspective of someone commenting on being a queer woman being happy with her sexuality. We’ve had a lot of men at our gigs in the past sexualising or infantilising us, so this is a massive f*ck you to them”. Singer/bassist Cece Corapi expands: “It felt important to reiterate the fact that your sexuality doesn’t define the type of person you are. There is still a lot of biphobia around, even in certain queer scenes, and a perception that it’s not a valid sexual identity. It’s important to call this out.”
The LP continues with the punchy Riot grrrl sound of Embleton Road and Clown Town, which show the band at their sarcastic best, oozing B-52’s and Delta 5 swagger with jaunty B-movie melodies. The latter makes comment on the circus of errors by the Conservative government, with particular focus on Boris Johnson following Brexit. With band members hailing from England, Ireland, Italy and Spain, Ghost Car are keen advocators for freedom of movement, a belief only strengthened following the events in Ukraine. Cece explains that this “opened our eyes to the consequences of borders even more, when considering a country caught between two opposing powers (Russia and the EU/Nato) and the devastation this leads to. I think it’s important that we become more aware of these issues, but we need to make sure that we don’t stop there and always look at it from a more internationalist point of view. And to consider what that means for everyone.”
Grungy pop-punk anthem and lead single Sex channels the likes of Stiff Little Fingers and The Undertones, mixing with influences from ’60s girl groups like The Ronettes and The Shangri-Las to the explosive rock ’n’ roll of The Runaways. Conch Pearl and Sushi Addict deal in distorted, jumped-up chaos, and No History is about our reliance on digital technology and a reminder to try to live spontaneously. Album finale Truly Trash is a defiant message seeped in ethereal, doomy layers of ferocity. Singer-keyboardist-Thereminist Clara Bleda’s closing comment; “F*ck Trump, f*ck Boris, f*ck the right wing”, while Maeve adds; “F*ck the DUP too”.
“This album is our way to express what bothers us, from personal interactions to international politics,” she says. “We wanted to explore different themes in a simple way so that they could be accessible to everyone.”
Ghost Car aim to utilize their diversity to explore different writing styles, while expressing themes of openness and empowerment. They’ve been championed by the likes of Mickey Bradley (Undertones), Skin and Du Blonde, and were deeply inspired by the late Lyndell Mansfield. They’ve also grown as performers supporting the likes of Shonen Knife, Amyl and The Sniffers and Beth Ditto, while remaining a London headline mainstay.”
