One would be forgiven in not being aware of the name of Gadd nor the individuals that form The Aftermath. But for those not loyal to Nottingham’s local scene or the wider national emo space as a whole, George Gadd and their merry gang have long been a welcome and warm presence in such respective spaces. Releasing music and performing all over the place for well over a decade now, Gadd has long spent years developing their earnestly humble approach to folk inspired emo and continuously improving and building upon their sound with each single, EP and gig. And that’s what makes Too Many Ghosts… just so brilliant. Rather than this being an awkward first offering from an act still trying to find their own feet and sound, this record is clearly a product of years upon years of development and growth.
Produced by Phil Booth (Martha, Onisid, Heck) and recorded in the tranquil hills of North Wales, here, George Gadd + The Aftermath know exactly to articulate the emotions that bind this record. More importantly however, they know how to get listeners to resonate and also experience such emotions. The fashion in which the triumphant opening and horns of the aptly titled ‘Square One’ flow seamlessly into the dichotomy between punchiness and introspection that forms ‘Not Human’ and following track ‘Sycamore’ makes such a sentiment inarguable.
Whilst these tracks wonderfully radiate the nature of growth and the type of development that can only be achieved over years, these songs and rest of the tracklisting of this album do ultimately feel time tested and tempered. Fans of Gadd will have no doubt heard renditions of a number of tracks here live over the years, but the manner in which these songs simultaneously feel fresh and a consequence of years of tinkering and tailoring is fantastic.
This is all well and good, but what truly lifts this record from being just patiently crafted songs on growth is just how musically inspired it is. Yes, whilst George Gadd + The Aftermath can be pigeonholed into the cosy niche that is folk inspired emo in the vein of Toodles & The Hectic Pity and Campfire Social – who feature in the form of gang vocals peppering the record – to do so would be lazy. In fact, it would be somewhat false. From the post-hardcore confrontation on ‘The Optimist’, the faint open sky heartland rock reminiscent of The Menzingers on ‘Invisible’ and the various nods to the worlds of shoegaze present, Too Many Ghosts… feels abundant with wide eyed influence that richly infuses the grounded UK emo that serves as the bedrock of this album.
Ultimately though, it would be criminal not to mention the closing arc that is the end of this album. Easily the best three track run within an already fantastic album, it’s the trio of songs that are ‘Little Bird’, ‘Shake A Ghost’ and album closer ‘Leo’ that come to encapsulate this record as a whole brilliantly. As the dreamy openness and saxophone crescendo of the former leads into the melancholic emo rager that is ‘Shake A Ghost’ and the quiet ode to a passed family dog that is the closer, it’s here that the brilliance of Too Many Ghosts… ultimately becomes inarguable.
In all, this is a wonderful record born from patience, influence and a seemingly genuine need to document growth in the most genuine way possible. It may have taken a decade to come into fruition, but here George Gadd + The Aftermath show that patience is a virtue worth pursing whilst furthering establishing themselves as a steadfast presence in the national emo scene and beyond.