#ghostprom

The husband and wife indie-folk duo Ghost Prom hail from New York, mesmerising audiences since their 2021 debut. With a few years since their last offering, the pair have since spent a rainy morning inside of barn studio down the road from their Hudson Valley home, penning what we now know as their new single ‘5am.’ With two years of refinement and hard-work, it’s never been a better time to spare Cameron and Eden a moment of your time to fall in love with their growing catalogue of creations.

With an alternative-country twang and a loose soft rock edging, Ghost Prom have created a western feeling melancholic serenade within ‘5am’, taking you on a journey through muted and mellow interwoven instrumentals that lightly set a bedding for you to wrap and warm yourself inside of. Led in with thudding drum beats and eccentric guitar twangs that resonate out into the soundscape with a poignantly fitting depth, ‘5am’ atmospherically layers sounds from the get-go with a rich and delicate front while still pertaining a deep and impactful backing that rings out with a great strength. Simmering as the first verse commences, Ghost Prom relax into steady subdued drum beats and a carefully picked, looping guitar riff, setting the stage for an intimate lyrical delivery to unfold through their vocalist’s heavy-hearted words. The chorus collapses into more of a rising instrumental moment, haunting through rich guitar strums, pounding beats and backing vocals that almost seem to harmonise with Cameron behind every word, with Eden’s stirring range that adds an even more agile and intimate air to the release’s glowing sound. Continuing to unfold through this washed-out, hazy soundscape, Ghost Prom have surrendered a release soaked in the most captivating of sounds.

Lyrically drenched with raw and personal confessions, Ghost Prom heart-wrenchingly explore through the complexities of addiction in candid ways many would shy away from. Consumed by the weight of their battle; working through trauma that led to their dark path; smothering thoughts of self-doubt and of course the eventual surrender to recovery and healing, ‘5am’ seeps out like a patchwork of sprawling diary entries entangled within moments of hope and moments of relapse. From the opening setting of the scene, Ghost Prom sing ‘it’s 5am and the fog rolls in, and my hand shakes like a young man with a gun’, a painfully painted picture of their withdrawal that aptly explores both their fear and lack of control over their body. Continuing with the line ‘last cigarette and it trembles away’ , Ghost Prom almost seem to leave you with a multifaceted interpretation of their words, almost feeling double-edged in how the cigarette either takes the edge off or exacerbates their growing dependance tenfold. The chorus attempts to shift gears, revealing that ‘I told you that I would change, and I must’ve told you that a thousand ways but I swear that this time it is different in my mind’, perhaps both a self convincing announcement as well as for those around them. Seeking to turn things around, ‘5am’ journeys through both the light and dark of addiction as well as the greys that are often unseen, tackling thoughts that many would prefer to bury than share. But reminding everyone struggling through their own path of addiction that it’s more of a fuzzy trek than clear sailing, Ghost Prom look to share an insight into an inconsistent pattern of recovery and relapse, as well as the motivation to finally get through to the other side.

Check out ‘5am’ here to soar through the tender sound of Ghost Prom and their truthfully real lyrical journey.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Unknown