Review: GHOST9 - W.ALL
Song names are just consistently getting weirder, aren't they? Is it really that taboo to name a song 'Wall' that it had to be named 'W.ALL'? Jokes aside, the title is pretty much a good summary of the song. It is almost as strong as a wall, it is just that someone in the production decided to add some roadblocks so that the song is harder to go through..
I love experimentation in music, I mean, who does not? But still, experimental music must have some cohesion. I mean, imagine 'Rising Sun' or 'Dhivara' lacking the segments bridging the track together, or lacking a central axis? GHOST9's 'W.ALL' shows how that would sound, for those curious. If I had to describe the song in one word, it would be "frustrating".
The first verse sounds like a more refined version of Alexa's ambitious K-Pop meets Sci-Fi sound. This segment is short, only lasting thirty seconds, a little too short if you ask me. We then get an ambitious and melodic section for fifteen or so seconds. Some have called it part of the verses, but to me, that is the pre-chorus. If GHOST9 is looking for a possible future, the pre-chorus build shows a great path.
Then, the first phase of the chorus arrives, and boy does it suck. I know many people grew to love it, but I did not like the lumbering sound of GHOST9's debut single 'Think of Dawn' (I wrote a review, but never got around to publishing it or refining it for publishing. Spoiler, I was not too nice to the track), and this is returning to that sound. This section almost made me throw my headphones down, it is just sad. Thankfully, the following chorus phase brings back the anthemic feel of the pre-chorus, and feels like the dose of ambition the song needs to stay alive. Better mixing would help here too.
Of course, this is 2020, and we need a trap segment. Fortunately, it is abandoned soon, and we are back to the anthemic sound. Unfortunately, in this repetition, we just get the lumbering segment.
After a super short bridge, we dive straight into the chorus's second phase, and boy is it good. This time, they add an extra refrain in the "Oh-Oh" style, which was needed in the first time usage.
Overall, 'W.ALL' is fine, nothing much more. But if they refined the track a little more, removed the lumbering, and added more emotion, than I would be blown away.
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