Irish band North Ghost have crafted a catchy and nostalgic pop-punk revival sound that they describe as “melody, energy and hooks.”
The trio of Shay (vocals and bass), Paul (vocals and guitar) and Jake (guitars), who hail from Coleraine on the north coast of Ireland, played in what Jake describes as an “OK but not great” band years ago. It didn’t work out and they went their separate ways but, fast forward to 2021, and they found themselves as 30-somethings back in Coleraine. And as Jake explains: “We did what every group of old friends that find themselves back in their small hometowns do: we got together regularly to write hopefully slightly better-than-average pop-punk songs. Cool, huh?”
On the pop-punk sound the trio have honed since, Jake tells us: “It’s a pretty nostalgic sound – we grew up in the 2000s with all the amazing pop punk and emo bands that were around at that time. It’s the period that made us fall in love with music, influenced our tastes and definitely shaped my style of playing. Think bands like Blink 182, Fall Out Boy, Relient K and Green Day. But, we’re not teenagers anymore, we’ve moved out and moved on, tried different things and been beaten down by the world. Our tastes have matured and we want to try and reflect that in the music.
“For me personally, I love to include shoegazey and post-rock sounds with the flat-out pop-punk that we’re used to. I have a real thing personally for post-rock and love all of the ambience and dynamics that come with it – so there’s some of that in there!
Our first taste of this is their second single Good Luck Trying, which was released in May. It opens up with a chunky smash of guitars that drop into laid-back vocals through an atmospheric first verse. That feeds into a big catchy chorus “So good luck trying to wake me, ‘Cause I don’t fucking sleep, Been in the dark for so long, It’s days that bother me, And good luck trying to scare me, ‘Cause I can clearly see, The things you’re trying to make me see, The stories that you weave.”
The second chorus drops into heavier guitars and more intense vocals, which give way to the guitars and rolling drums then fade into a lighter bridge. And a moment of calm and laid-back vocals bring the track to a mellow conclusion.
On the track, Jake told us: “It’s been really positive, which is unbelievable to me. When we started writing songs, for me personally, I just wanted to write better stuff than we ever had before. I didn’t honestly expect anyone outside of our immediate friends and family to hear it – and I definitely didn’t expect them to enjoy it. The fact that we’ve been receiving positive reviews and engagement around the tracks is just so awesome and unexpected.”
The track was mixed and mastered by legendary producer Romesh Dodangoda (Bring Me The Horizon, Funeral For A Friend and many more), on which Jake added: “We’re pretty much a DIY band in that we write everything ourselves, we record everything ourselves, we design everything ourselves, we produce all content ourselves… yada yada. One thing that we don’t do in-house is mix. For that, we call Romesh. Honestly, he needs no introduction – his credits read like a ‘who’s who’ of UK pop rock and metal. He’s amazing. What Romesh does, is he takes these self-produced, home-recorded songs and makes them sound like we might just know what we’re doing. It really is insane how great he can make things sound.”
That followed the band’s debut single My Mind Still Drifts To You, which starts with a light lick and a bumbling bass through a laid-back verse. Heavier guitars kick in briefly and return through a big chorus, which ends on big chunky guitar chords. Another laid-back verse follows and a second chorus drops into engaging vocals supported by twinkling guitars then more stabbing chords. And it again drops into a mellow section of light vocals and guitars before wrapping up with a final blast of the chorus.
These two tracks precede two more that will form North Ghost’s debut EP, on which Jake said: “Mostly more of the same really – sugary pop punk with more hooks than you could shake a stick at! We’re finding as we write more and more, that we’re definitely getting better at trimming the fat. So expect more lean, mean pop punk.”
As alluded to above, the North Ghost sound is heavily influenced by 2000s pop-punk. But Jake tells us he also grew up on bands like The Gaslight Anthem, who are probably his favourite band of all time, The Lawrence Arms and Alkaline Trio, more recent bands like Neck Deep, Modern Baseball and The 1975, as well as midwestern emo and post-rock.
And on what inspires their music, Jake explains: “We’re all pretty creative people, and I think the urge to create is hardwired into us – sometimes it feels more like a compulsion! Shay and I have been making music and writing songs together since we were 13, I think Paul started slightly later than that. We just love making stuff. I read an interview with Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie years ago, where he said that for creative people the act of creation, not the finished ‘product,’ is the goal. That stuck with me and I think he’s pretty spot on.”
There’s plenty more to come from North Ghost, starting with two more singles being released over the summer, after which they’ll be looking for opportunities to play live shows.
You can follow North Ghost on Instagram and TikTok, and check out their music on Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and YouTube.
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