Emotive Post-Rockers Ghostar Premiere New Music Video & Game — Dive In Here!

Fresh off the well-received emotive, shoegazey post-rock of their October 2019 EP Swelling, the Madison, Wisconsin-based group ghostar are premiering a brand new single with the eye-catching title “Catfishing Anthony Kiedis.” It’s an entirely instrumental, subtly but surely rather captivating jam that tugs at the edges of rock song standards in favor of revealing strikingly vibrant veritable new worlds right around the corner. The band have released an interactive, text-based video game that leads into a music video for their song — check it all out below! 

The initial minute and a half or so of the new song blends the expansive, sprawling structures of post-rock with relatively tightly wound, crunchy bass lines, all of which sports the thickness of an immersive and captivating shoegaze jam. The song then mellows out a bit, as the band roll out contemplative, meandering drum and guitar rhythm that suggest a sense of confused wonder, like the apprehensive awe of stumbling into some unfamiliar but clearly vibrantly alive environment. The music suddenly speeds up into a galloping pace as these alluringly palpable themes come together of a subtly creeping loss of security in the service of some slightly obscured, grander story.

The video concludes with the question “Are you lost?” expanded to cover the width of the screen — and within the song, there’s no apparent easy answer. It’s a snapshot of the emotional state of that question, including volatility, longing, and more.

The video’s accompanying text-based interactive game asks participants to essentially choose their own journey through the questions and scenarios provided. The snippets suggest that the main character — you — has found themselves in an unfamiliar environment without an idea of how they got there. Reaching an “end” of the story — whether via death or jumping into a cold river, among other apparent options — leads one to the video.

The band — which now includes guitarist Steve Higgins, drummer John McCracken, and bassist Kyle Kohl — explains:

The video game and music video play on each other themes of confusion, anxiety, and the duality built throughout the song’s structure. By playing the game, listeners can explore different paths and narratives but are warned to be careful as to not get lost along the way.

Play the game at this link.

Check out the video below!