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Release Date: September 14, 2021
FFO: Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Poison
2020 is a year that will not soon be
forgotten by anyone who lived it. In the midst of unprecedented chaos and
a global pandemic, artists began seeking new ways to be creative and
share the gift of music with a world that desperately needed it.
Ghosts of Sunset, featuring former (Dutch
Henry) singer-songwriter John Merchant from Western Michigan, and one
time Michigan resident and now residing in Florida, multi-instrumentalist
and former (The Verve Pipe) drummer Todd Long, dealt with it by releasing
an EP called “Headed West”.
“Headed West” found Merchant and Long
joined by a cast of musicians with their roots in the 1980’s hard
rock/hair metal scene especially in Los Angeles, California. The duo
brought in well-known musicians that included Tim Mosher (Junkyard),
Traci Guns (LA Guns) , Adam Hamilton (Tuff) , Johnny Monaco (Enuff
Z’Nuff) , Stacey Blades (Ratt) and Bruno Ravel (Danger Danger) to name
but a few.
The 5-song effort garnered world-wide
attention, airplay, downloads and streams for its well-crafted songs that
told the story of the rise and fall of a fictional hair-metal band in the
1980s. As ambitious as it was to try and develop characters and a
storyline over such a short span, somehow the pair pulled it off and
listeners connected. Ghosts of Sunset had found an audience who longed
for a connection with a genre they loved, but whose musical tastes were
mature enough to demand solid songwriting.
Now, the duo are presenting a full-length
album titled “No Saints in the City”. Following the formula laid down by
“Headed West”, Merchant and Long once again invited musical input from a
cast of influences that includes members of 1980s “hair-metal” staples
like Bang Tango, Little Caesar, Lita Ford, and E’nuff Z’nuff, but widens
its musical palette with guests from bands like Gene Loves Jezebel, the
Cruzados, and the Great Affairs.
While not a “concept” in the pure sense
that “Headed West” was, “No Saints in the City” still uses its 11 songs
to deeply explore characters, their struggles, and the human experience.
The album serves up music you can hear with songs you can feel.
The first single on Golden Robot Records,
“No Saints in the City” due out on June 8, 2021 mines the fertile soil of
the quest to “make it” on the streets of New York City and just what the
true cost is spiritually and emotionally. The attention of detail paid to
the songs main character instantly connects and draws the listener in.
A second single to be released later in
2021, “If You’re Not Coming Back” looks at addiction, love, and loss with
an unflinching eye. Ghosts of Sunset pride themselves in being able to
present material with “weight” as well as good-time, punk attitude, solid
rock n roll.
“No Saints in the City” still bears the
mark and influence of the 1980s hard rock and “hair-metal” scene, but
opens its door to a wide-range of influences as varied as late 70s punk
and rock n roll like the New York Dolls, the early glitter of Bowie, the
ground-breaking work of Hanoi Rocks, as well as artists like Jesse Malin,
Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen and even authors like Danny Lyon and his book
“Bikeriders” (a result of a deep affinity for the music of Memphis
Tennessee-based rockers Lucero).
Throughout “No Saints in the City”,
guitars clash over a relentless bed of driving bass and drums, while
lyrics and vocals avoid typical cliché as they further compositions that
take twists and turns eliciting a visceral response to every story told.
Ghosts of Sunset and “No Saints in the
City” will definitely leave a mark that keeps listeners returning again
and again trying to place themselves inside of each story.
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