Memento Morí is the consuming new album from Love Ghost, a project led by Finnegan Seeker Bell. An eclectic production spans from alt-rock to emo, trap, and Latin urban influences, for a consistently melodic appeal. Relatable lyrical themes show alongside — depicting personal struggles, self-destruction, perseverance, and existential introspection. Battles with mental health, addiction, and personal demons juxtapose aggression with moments of more serene contemplation. The result is an album that delights in its heart-on-sleeve emotion and varied, collaborator-featuring production.
Thunderous guitars kick off opening track “DECOY” with invigorating immersion. Quickly, the album showcases its dynamic tonal tendencies, as a dreamier vocal sequence arrives alongside glistening, more understated guitars. The gorgeous contrasts between shoegaze-y guitar textures and dreamier pop inclinations makes for a stirring, replay-inducing charm within this memorable production, which also features Katsu Energy. A bilingual vocal presence, shifting seamlessly between Spanish and English, compels further. “Egomaniacs, psycho soundtracks,” the introspective lyrics exude, gearing into a delectably fuzzy hook with shades of Last Dinosaurs.
The ensuing “Chronicles” unveils a grimy rock and art-pop intertwining. “Everyday I’m living in a mental asylum,” intensifying vocals let out, attaining a suave bluesy rock charisma as stomping guitars and multiple vocal layers lament “feeling all alone in this world.” The “I’m a fucking drug addict,” proclamations infuse within a catching rock/hip-hop synergy, then arriving into a memorable infusion of lush guitar tones. “Chronicles” is further showcase of the project’s ardent vocal deliveries and seamless shifts between tonal aggression and serene contemplation.
A heartfelt track featuring Plata Shail, “The Monster Inside” melds lyrical themes of perseverance and personal battles with a hypnotic rock build. Starry-eyed dreaminess comes via the nocturnal guitar creakiness and spacey synth flourishes. The interchanging vocalists build into a cathartic second half, where heavier guitars combine with vocals that ask “are we free?” with emotively enthralling intrigue. “Spiritual Warfare” follows, bringing back a darker rock foreboding akin to “Chronicles.” “Take my head and rip it off,” DEER’s haunting vocals convey with viscerally gripping qualities. “Raining fire on my enemies,” Bell’s fierce presence then emerges, showing a fierce fearlessness in confronting obstacles and naysayers.
The album’s second half continues to impress in its soul-searching lyrical prowess and range of quality, melodic productions. The soulful vocals of Ardis add a chilling tint to “TWOSIDES,” where references to chaos and “battles I can’t win,” further themes of personal strife. A raucous rock delight takes form in “IMPOSTER,” featuring Young Aleexx and xkori. Another bilingual vocal success, the track navigates more debonair verses into a shout-y central hook, moving in its overall passion. Concluding the album, “SOMEWHERE UP ON MARS” muses on lingering pain and a feeling of complacency — “I’m still wearing the same exact jeans that I wore when you last saw me,” — as sturdy guitar distortion arrives into the title-touting climax. Full of empowering lyrical precision and riveting, dynamic productions, Memento Morí is a thorough success from Love Ghost.
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