Album Review: The Riptide Movement, Ghosts

The Riptide Movement are back, with their fourth album, Ghosts. And guess what? Having put in a lot of graft over the past seven years, the band are really starting to sound like the kind of outfit that can consistently top national charts and sell out gigs.

Opener ‘In A Heartbeat’ is an anthemic number, with the cascading guitars and pulsating drum beats – coupled with Malachy Tuohy’s powerful yet fragile vocals – showing a strong U2 influence.

Next comes ‘Changeling’, which is notable for its lyrical flair. Mixing buoyant hooks with themes of alienation and otherness, there’s panic in the crooning, as Tuohy belts out the rhetorical questions: “Is that your wife?/ Is that your mother?/Is that your child?/ Is that your lover?”, emphasising an atmosphere of disconnection and isolation.

These feelings thread the album together and give it an impressive cohesion. The songs themselves seem to be the band’s way of untangling their emotions – plenty of demons are exorcised throughout.

And even when the intensity decelerates towards the end, there’s enough going on lyrically and vocally to keep things interesting. Once again, with Ghosts, The Riptide Movement have gifted us with an album you’ll want to listen to over and over again.

Ghosts is out now on CD, vinyl, and digital download!