Hailing from Woodstock, New York comes one of the darkest songwriters of our time. Casey Chandler. better known as Galapaghost, is an indie folk singer/song writer who has toured both North America and Europe since 2010, and has released three albums, with the first two being released on the Italian label, Lady Lovely. He released his third album I Never Arrived by himself, in 2016. It has since gained great critical reception and has been streamed frequently on services such as Spotify. He has recently finished his latest EP, Pulse, which was also recorded in Italy. His songwriting mixes elements of dark folk artists such as Leonard Cohen as well as alternative rock artists such as Smashing Pumpkins and Cranberries.
Influenced by the infamous terrorist attacks in Orlando of the same name, Pulse is 11 tracks of brilliant darkness and depression. The lyrics touch on themes such as an the issues going on in our country with tracks like “Bleed”, “Holy Moly”, and “The American Dream”. Casey shows off the fact that he is multi talented, by not only singing and playing guitar, but also playing violin, synth, programming and beatbox. The lyrics are very deep and well written, and help you connect to the emotions that Casey likely felt as he writes these songs. He also shows he has a bit of a sense of humor with titles like “Woke Up On The Wrong Side of The Earth Today” and “Interstate Death Song”. With his experimentation, multiple instruments, and diverse lyrics, no two tracks sound the same, making each one give the listener a desire to put them on repeat and never hit the skip button.
Most recently Casey has released a music video for the EP’s title track, “Pulse.” The video is full of old black and white stock footage from wars and other acts of violence. This gives a good look at the song’s dark tone in a similar way to how the video to “Zombie” by the Crannberries helped its song. All and all, Pulse is a great record for those looking for some incredible melodies mixed with experimentation and darkness.
