After years of talking about it and months of actually doing it Lights And Lines cat LAL-001 is finally out today - introducing Ghosts of the Future & Past by Gozer Goodspeed.
Ghosts of the Future & Past recontextualises Gozer Goodspeed’s incredible back catalogue for listeners, and introduces some brand new, never-before-released tracks at the same time. This collection has been lovingly put together to introduce you to an artist with an extraordinary voice, a deep love of folk music and storytelling, and a strong affinity for the sounds of the blues. You can read more about our intentions behind this brilliant release here.
And we launched our podcast!
Available on Anchor now and on its way to Apple, Spotify etc (awaiting approval apparently) Episode 1 of The Inner Sleeve podcast is out where we bring you digital liner notes for the Lights And Lines catalogue. Gozer speaks to Label Manager Mike Five about the stories behind the songs on Ghosts of the Future & Past, and how this fantastic collection came together.
Speaking of podcasts, Shaun Panda Nicolson spoke to Gozer on his 4 Songs And A Dream podcast recently and it's well worth checking out!
What the press are saying
We've been really lucky to receive some amazing press coverage for this release, here are some of the best bits so far...
Fatea Magazine gave a brilliant review of the album, describing it as
"...a mammoth work... most impressive ...a fine way to provide an introduction to a talented artist you might not have heard before"
They also went on to say about Gozer's lyrics:
"Gozer isn't frightened to take on difficult subjects... This is fine lyric writing by any standard."
Our friends at The PRSD went track by track with their brilliant review, taking us deep into each of the 17 songs and giving you a real flavour of what to expect on the album.
“With a bagful of wild riffs, Gozer Goodspeed has magicked up a style of modern Blues that feels evocatively now…”
We particularly liked this quote about What You Got Going On, Lewis:
“...a prime example of the storytelling, style and atmosphere that he creates at his usual break-neck speed.”
Listen With Monger picked out some his their favourite tracks in their review, and even compared Barrel Headlong Into The Night to a Joshua Tree-era U2 jam! Overall I think they definitely liked the album based on this quote at the end:
“Gozer Goodspeed has already amassed an incredibly diverse, authentic and impressive back catalogue which I would urge you to dive in to and roll around like a lottery winner on a bed of £20 notes.”
Our friends at I Said Yeah continued the trend of positive reviews for Gozer, and the album saying:
“Running straight through the middle of the whole set is the consistency of Goodspeed’s writing, which when paired with his commanding guitar-work and willingness to go wherever a song takes him, proves somewhat impossible to resist.”
This brilliant review also includes interviews with Gozer Goodspeed and Label Manager Mike Five, so there's lots to enjoy!
Mangorave also had lots of nice things to say, including this great closing line:
"Embrace the Blues, enjoy the Folk, and be driven away by Gozer Goodspeeds sonic story-telling."
James at Indie Band Guru was also very complimentary in his wide ranging review that goes chronologically through the collection picking out some favoruite bits.
"...he assembles his music in a way that is not only hard to pigeonhole but a sound that is his own."
And if that wasn't enough, our friends at The Spirit Of Progressive Rock did a double review looking at Gozer's Rebuilt And Remade EP first of all, and then then Ghosts - they went on to say:
"Cherry picking from the EP’s and album released so far can sometimes be hard work, but this collection really does highlight every aspect of Gozers career and his versatility and panache as both a songwriter and performer..."
What about the video?
Great question, it would indeed be remiss not to mention the fantastic lyric video for the lead track from this album, Gambler's Last Day.
If you've ever found yourself asking “Wait, what’s he singing about?” then we've got you covered in this video! Part of the remit of the label has always been to amplify the voice of creators everywhere, so it felt right for us to spend hours trawling through creative commons libraries to find a piece of art that was largely unknown, and give it a new life through the music. We hope you enjoy this re-cut version of A Step Into The Real, originally a university project by Martine Bou Younes. Original video here: https://youtu.be/NvWhPpCYLK0.
And speaking of videos - we also launched the Gozer's Ghosts Cover Competition this week, giving you the chance to win some very cool prizes simply by covering the song. All the details including how to play the track are on the competition page, you have until 27th August to enter and we'll pick a winner shortly afterwards.
And that's a wrap!
That just about concludes our roundup of LAL-001 - Ghosts of the Future & Past by Gozer Goodspeed. The album is out now on Bandcamp, available as a beautiful CD Digipak and/or Digital Download and will be available on other streaming platforms on 27th August 2021. We hope you love it!
