“Catch me, God I swear I’m falling.“
On their debut EP Anti-Aircraft it was evident Fly Over States had a penchant for the 00s sound, drawing on from the now coveted post-hardcore, metalcore and screamo sounds of that time. It was a sound that they had nailed to a tee, right down to the muddied production that elevated the emotive vocals across the record. Following on from their 2023 EP comes Ghosts which offers a further foray into the pertinent world that Fly Over States are crafting, and begins to truly set the foundation for a band that could be a true prospect for the future.
Opener “Horsefly” leads Ghosts into the breach. Noodling post-hardcore riffs are packed into the track, a sound that injects itself into the ear, making it difficult not to tap along to each guitar riff and drum groove. The sharp and emotive vocals from Stephan come in with notable range, flowing between the harsher moments to gliding cleans, that continues across the record. “Horsefly” touches on the first of Ghosts’ exploration of capitalistic exploitation and its suffering, telling the story of the Piet de Wit wind turbine accident that result in the death of a 19 and 21 year old worker. With the lyric, “A monument of burning skin, trembling, you gotta stop trembling” become particularly moving.
Following track “40 Stripes Minus One” explores the story of the The Paria Diving Disaster, which saw the deaths of four divers after being trapped in an oil pipeline, who were denied rescue. Both this and “Horsefly” display the anguish and despair that must have taken a toll on the victims of both incidents, displayed by cutting lyric “I said I’m fine (I said I’m fine!), you know I’m lying but I swear this time I’m bowing out for good, I’m stuck inside”. Both tracks provide a fitting memorialisation of both tragedies.
The observation and introspection of needless suffering strikes again “Exits“. Its opening moments offer a pained vocal performance, a fair reflection of a society and world that seems ever intent of greasing the cogs with blood (“Another empty gesture to elude the social slaughter, another faulty wire, another forest fire“). Turning their view inwards on “Slingshot”,Stephan laments “Weaker than you know, what do you want from me?“. The track takes up much more post-hardcore stylings, moving away from the screamo-leaning force of earlier tracks, with cleans leading throughout the track.
On the surface, what Fly Over States presents is much of its influences from The Chariot and Underoath. Those who have found much solace and enjoyment from the revival of that sound will find much to indulge in on Ghosts. Those who want to scratch beneath the surface of a record will find something much more pertinent here, as Fly Over States explore the lives lost to machine of society, along with moments of introspection across an EP that is short but absolutely memorable.
7.5/10
Ghosts is set to release via Fever Ltd. and can be pre-ordered here.