'Freedom Of Thought' - Ghost (album review)

Being a producer and making instrumental beats is all very well but if you’ve no vocalists then you’ve got to put more effort in. Thankfully Ghost must have realised this long ago – he’s well versed in creating an instrumental track that actually goes somewhere. Whether he’s making beats with what sounds suspiciously like typewriters (‘Daze’) instead of drums or whacking an awesome guitar solo in a track’s climax (‘Return Journey’) Ghost always brings that extra je ne sais quoi to get the listener hooked.

On occasion the hook is the guest MC – Jehst, Verb T and Dubbledge represent the UK Hip Hop scene and Finale Detroit’s. Verb T’s contributions on ‘Invisible World’ and ‘Frozen In Time’ sure build up anticipation for the Invisible Inc. project he and Ghost are involved with alongside Kashmere. Both tracks are pretty atmospheric yet the drums maintain the head nod – a formula Ghost has perfected.

What’s nice is that the tracks here are not samey, and not just for background music (although it is great for that). ‘It’s All Love’ explodes with cheeky jazz swing right before Ghost’s spaced-out version of DJ IQ and Jehst’s ‘Elevate’ kicks in. I can only describe ‘See You Crying’ as a Massive Attack-esque power ballad whereas ‘Remember’ manages to remind me of Jimi Hendrix, early-days Oasis and psychedelic-times Beatles all in one track – definitely a stand out. Then ‘Road To Somewhere’ shuffles into existence with as much jive as a Hip Hop head could wish for.

The much-anticipated ‘Freedom of Thought’ is being released on 15th June on Breakin Bread and there’s no doubt – you should buy it!