11th November 2026
Christopher Nosnibor
Having provided a taster for this, their second full-length album last month, in the form of single cut ‘Kissing Lions’, Ghost Painted Sky forewarn that Failure Blooms ‘runs a gamut of internal struggle through building intensity’, with ‘Themes of loneliness, isolation, longing, ennui, and battles with depression, sleeplessness, addiction, self-image, and the relentless passage of time pepper the eight comparatively short but impassioned songs’. As pitches go, it’s pretty direct, and clear: this is no party record.
They deliver on their promise from the outset, too: the first track, ‘There Against the Wall’ is straight in with a dense, bulbous bass, over which drifts dreamy, picked guitar and subtle synth detail, and the dark atmosphere is highly reminiscent of The Cure circa Faith. However, Lisa Wood’s vocal is a world away from Robert Smith’s, being more overtly melodic, as well as more rock in style. That’s rock in the sense of mid-80s UK alternative rock than in the sense of mullets, denim jackets and bandanas or whatever. Up next, ‘Corridors’ increases both the density and intensity, some meandering guitar work adding a level of disorientation to the experience. Something about it also evokes The Mission in their early years – again, the references are as much in the ether, the spirit, than anything specific or direct, and this is a strong positive, in that Ghost Painted Sky position themselves within that classic lineage of goth as it emerged from post-punk in the UK in the early 80s without there being any corny rip-off guitar lines or whatever, the likes of which blighted the so-called ‘second wave’ of goth in the 90s, where so many specific references and nicked bits here and there bordered on tribute. It was something of a low ebb for the genre, but the fact it persisted was something, and now, we’re experiencing a true renaissance. Special mentions should go to LA’s Mirror of Venus and London’s Mouth Ulcers at the forefront of a thriving revival, whereby the songwriting and atmosphere are very much the focus.
The yearning lament of ‘Kissing Lions’ brings strong anthemic vibes, and even hints of early U2 and Simple Minds, before ‘Sound and Fury’ – which I assume is a reference to William Faulkner’s bleak gothic novel – locks into a solid and urgent groove. And they just pack the tracks back to back. ‘Ordinary Song’ – one of only two which extend beyond four minutes – is breezy mid-80s goth in a nutshell, a bit Ghost Dance, a bit March Violets circa 86. The execution is key, and the sound is spot on in terms of replicating that vintage vibe, but without feeling forced. It’s also one of the brighter, mor uplifting songs on the album. It would be a stretch to describe it as ‘poppy’, but it’s all relative, right? ‘Accessible’ is perhaps the word. This is less the case on ‘Insomnia’, which is altogether spikier, and as much as it comes with the jangle of All About Eve, the overall vibe is more X-Mal Deutschland. It hits hard, and then they go all-out on the album finale, ‘The Fire, The Flame’.
As necessary and integral as the lyrics are, they aren’t always immediately apparent, and it’s the overall mix and atmosphere which stands to the fore on Failure Blooms. Many albums are front-loaded in terms of the nest songs, particularly now the listening attention span has diminished to next to nothing. But with Failure Blooms, Ghost Painted Sky have dared to structure an album as an album. As the final assault of tribal percussion hammers through the final minute, the album’s full conception becomes apparent. This is truly a beginning-to-end work, the likes of which are so rare these days. Culminating in a swirl of chiming harmonics pitched against a tempestuous sell of guitar and a sonic haze, we arrive, after a sometimes claustrophobic crawl through the darkness, at a surge towards the light. Weighted with melancholy but bursting with positive energy, it’s anything but a failure.
AA
