PREMIERE | Wild Arrows, "Here's the Ghost"
In the sanctuary of nature with Mike Law; photographed by Lindsey Law.
Some say the perfect work of art doesn't exist. The most pristine painting in the world might have some unintended smudge that is practically undetectable to the human eye. Perhaps even the most well chiseled sculpture might have an edge that is coarse or dull, overlooked by the coordination of the artist and their instrument. The most grand of motion pictures may lay claim to all of the most treasured accolades and still have an unfortunate technical kerfuffle at some intersection of the film's continuity, a slight of the scissors from the editing bay. Or even the most praised and iconic novel might suffer under the weight of gratuitous meandering, or contain one or more underdeveloped characters and trajectories that underwhelm or detract from an otherwise grand epic.
And what then of the perfect song, or the perfect collection of songs and other such symphonies of import and note? To help answer that question rises the sky breaking blaze of Wild Arrows, unleashing an apparition of amour with “Here’s the Ghost” from the upcoming album Loving the Void. Lead by Mike Law of EULCID and New Idea Society, the NYC-based artist works under a thesis to make some of the most incredible art never before attempted. While elements might strike notions of familiarity of previous movements and anachronistic aesthetes and such, Law alongside assists from Stephen Brodsky (Cave In) and Alan Cage (Quicksand), Gary Atturio, Grady Walker and Nick Krill collaborate together to create the tones, note sequences and progressions that have never before been heard, felt or experienced before. Far from the futile task of a re-inventing the wheel, Wild Arrows takes aim at the arrangement of moods, textures and tonal landscapes that the world has never before witnessed.
The opening chapters of “Here’s the Ghost” are reminiscent of a school dance conducted with a playlist curated by only the most discerning and determinate of tastes. Romantic overtures murmur and croon in manners that recall artful dodgers and dilettantes raised on a steady diet of provisions from the rosters of Sacred Bones, Dark Entries, Dais Records, AVANT, felte, Ghostly International, vintage 4AD catalogs and so forth. And even with the comparative connections to the aforementioned, Law completely flips the script in ways that no listener will see coming. Wild Arrows enjoy a full on Lennon/McCartney “A Day in the Life” moment right at the 3:18 mark, where the first half of the moody electro-goth tension is shattered in a burst of passion that seemingly comes of nowhere. The recitations of so what if I, what if I, what if I, what if I love you slowly and methodically build into growing swells of pressure that evolve into incantations of what if I still love you before the movement explodes into the enraptured fire of unfettered and undeterred love and desire.
From here we get the delivery of the titular refrain and so much more: the reveal of a love that has been there for countless years. Mike paints a musical portrait of a profound affection that gallantly moves from the emotional inner prison of the heart and spirit and into the world and its outer recesses. Wild Arrows demonstrates a spirit soaring ballad that begins with the muted longing that mulls about on an industrial dance floor before blowing the top off the ballroom’s roof. Mike Law is able to convey the story of a love that has been fostered for nearly a lifetime, bottled in initially with demur rhythms and sentimental self-assessments before arriving at a heart opening realization. “Here’s the Ghost” stands as one of the most beautiful love songs / love stories never before told, sung or arranged. It is a song dedicated to the greatest bond that has been developed over years, a love like no other, a testament to the greatest friendship and connection that words on their own can never pronounce in the fullest extent of substantial meaning and so much more. Law edifies the ineffable power of something that cannon be fully described, nor completely contained to the fickle and mercurial nature of semantics, but rather something that finds a new expression in a new form of ballad that the world has never before heard — until now.
Mike Law provided some insights on the single “Here’s the Ghost” and the upcoming album Loving the Void with the following reflections:
“Here’s the Ghost”
"Here's the Ghost” should be the last song played at the dance. I didn't go to the prom in high school because I knew they wouldn't play this song. To be fair I hadn't written it but I was still insulted that they weren't going to play it.
In the studio we were having a tough time connecting the first half of the song with the second half or even capturing the vibe at all. The producers I was working with, Gary Atturio and Grady Walker were right on board with the beginning but Grady really believed in the idea for the ending. He led the idea of micing the drums with Nick and got that big sound and most importantly, the vibe. It took us a while but we figured it out and eventually blended it exactly how I hoped. It's not really a key change but it feels like one because it's unexpected and open sounding. I'm not a Led Zeppelin fan but it reminds me of Stairway to Heaven or something grandiose like if Jimmy Page had synths instead of guitar solos. I mean, at its core it's so obviously a love song about a love not confined to one lifetime so it's supposed to be expansive sounding and it's own universe.
Loving the Void
There are a few things that happen on this record I've never heard before and moods that blend together in a way that is new to my ears, very much on purpose. There is no filler, it's all in service to the song and album. I wanted to make an album that is a linear document of a human lifespan but only with emotions that you feel at every stage of life, just in different ways at each age. Not long ago I realized that with important feelings there is no present, future, or past tense. With important feelings it's all a prism that reflects differently at different moments. For example you feel anger and love as a child, an adult and as an old person. I wanted to sing in no tense and all these songs do that. They are that prism. It's definitely a conceptual album. There are pieces of in-between songs that I've been playing since I was 17 and it's meant to be heard in order. There's a build, not in intensity but in purpose.
Loving the Void from Wild Arrows will be available June 17.