A wonderfully striking and gaudy video clip accompanies the latest Ghost Car single, ‘Selfish, Spoiled’. The visuals bring to mind Marie Antoinette, wasteful aristocrats and upper class brats born into obscene wealth and privilege.
The timing for such a single and video couldn’t have been better. The kitsch royal family crockery on display – mere weeks after the Queen is dead – when as many of us are wondering why the hell we even have a monarchy as those who sycophantically queued for hours just to curtsy and bow at the coffin of a woman most of them had never even met. Meanwhile, the world is turning to ever more populist and right-wing leaders, who only aspire to pave the way for making themselves and the wealthiest ever more so, whilst the poorest are left to queue at food banks.
If you’ve ever found yourself switching on the news and furiously screaming at the world, “Will you ever open your eyes?!”, then Ghost Car are the band you need in your life! They are brilliantly bold with a neat ability of raging against patriarchal inequality, homophobia, racism, toxic relationships and any other injustices they damn well please. If that sounds all a bit heavy, don’t fear: Ghost Car possess enough cheeky wit, street smarts and delightful musicianship to make it sound like the most fun you’ve ever heard four people create!
Ghost Car worked closely in the making of the satirical video with art director Claudia Torán who says, “The story behind the video is that dinner guests played by the band represent ‘the system’ itself, (politicians, bourgeoisie, etc. portrayed in an exaggerated, ironic, sarcastic way) whilst enjoying what appears to be a lavish dinner party. With fake attitudes and ungrateful behaviour. They don’t want to face any problems or injustices. Only interested in their egos.”
Highly chaotic and comical scenes unfold as, dressed in their finest refinery, Ceci (bass/lead vocals) sucks noodles from a delicate china teapot, Laura (drums) spits coins and squirts cream into her mouth, Maeve (guitar) bites into forbidden fruit which oozes more fake blood than a Hammer horror vampire’s victim, while Clara (keys) plays a keyboard concocted from bread, frankfurters and cornichons which gets swamped in ketchup and mustard in the closing scenes. Speaking of the chaos, they say, “… the dinner party, like ‘the system’, is rotten. Nothing is what it appears to be.”
“When the people shall have nothing more to eat, they will eat the rich” – Jean-Jacques Rousseau
‘Selfish, Spoiled’ is taken from Ghost Car’s debut album, ‘Truly Trash’, which is released via One Little Independent on 28 October. Pre-orders are available from the band’s Bandcamp page and OLI. Follow Ghost Car on their socials: Instagram / Facebook / Twitter.
You can catch Ghost Car live at the following shows:
20 & 22 Oct – Left Of The Dial Festival, Rotterdam, NL
24 Nov – The Lexington, London (album launch show)
9 Dec – The Hope & Ruin, Brighton
Review by Mandy Bang (London After Midnite)
Artwork credit: Raissa Pardini
Photo credit: Patrick Smith
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