Ghost Notes
Studio album by
Veruca Salt
ReleasedJuly 10, 2015 (2015-07-10)
GenreAlternative rock
Length54:48
LabelEl Camino Records
ProducerBrad Wood
Veruca Salt chronology
MMXIV
(2014)		 Ghost Notes
(2015)
Singles from Ghost Notes
  1. "Laughing in the Sugar Bowl"
    Released: May 19, 2015[1]

Ghost Notes is the fifth full-length studio album by American rock band Veruca Salt, released on July 10, 2015, through El Camino Records. It is the first to feature the band's original lineup since their second album, Eight Arms to Hold You (1997).[2]

Background

Following the band's 1997 release Eight Arms to Hold You, drummer Jim Shapiro quit. Shortly after, in 1998, Nina Gordon and bassist Steve Lack also left, leaving Louise Post to release two new Veruca Salt albums with other musicians, Resolver in 2000, and IV in 2006. Gordon told The Los Angeles Times that after seeing the reception from Mazzy Star's 2012 reunion she got the desire to make music with Post again. The two met up for the first time in 14 years and began writing music that would become Ghost Notes.[3]

Production and release

For Ghost Notes, the four original band members collaborated more on songwriting than they had before. The lyrics focused on their shared experiences, with Gordon saying, "I think a lot of the content in the new songs is about our feelings surrounding the breakup, regrets about the breakup, the thrill of getting back together. It's really not so much about our individual lives the way it used to be."[4]

Ghost Notes was released on July 10, 2015. It was produced by Brad Wood, who also produced Veruca Salt's debut American Thighs.[2] Two of the songs had previously been released. "The Museum of Broken Relationships" was on the band's 2014 Record Store Day release MMXIV,[5] and "Black and Blonde" is a new recording (with a new chorus and revised lyrics) of a song originally recorded by Gordon for her first solo album, Tonight and the Rest of My Life (2000).[3]

The double-LP vinyl edition released by El Camino in January 2016 features a revised track listing with three additional selections.[6]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic78/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The A.V. ClubB+[9]
Consequence of SoundB[10]
Now Magazine[11]
Paste9.1/10[12]
Spin7/10[13]
Under the Radar7/10[14]
Pitchfork7.0/10[15]

Ghost Notes received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 78 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 12 reviews.[7]

Writing for Consequence of Sound and rating the album a "B", Nina Corcoran said, "Veruca Salt are still writing catchy, raging songs, but the naivety of their intent and its two-decade-old edits are miles away here."[10] Matt Williams of Now Magazine rated the album four stars out of five and stated, "Gordon and Post haven't missed a beat. In fact, they might be better than ever."[11] The A.V. Club's Alex McCown called Ghost Notes "a potent and affecting record, with a deep well of emotional resonance Veruca Salt never really had before."[9]

Accolades

Publication Rank List
AllMusic N/A Best Rock Albums of 2015[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Veruca Salt

Ghost Notes[17]
No.TitleLength
1."The Gospel According to Saint Me"3:49
2."Black and Blonde"4:07
3."Eyes on You"3:17
4."Prince of Wales"5:35
5."The Sound of Leaving"3:32
6."Love You Less"3:09
7."Laughing in the Sugar Bowl"2:16
8."Empty Bottle"5:53
9."Come Clean, Dark Thing"3:22
10."I'm Telling You Now"3:29
11."Triage"3:36
12."Lost to Me"4:10
13."The Museum of Broken Relationships"2:35
14."Alternica"5:58
Total length:54:48
2016 double LP edition[6]
No.TitleLength
1."Prelude to Zeus"1:28
2."The Gospel According to Saint Me"3:49
3."Black and Blonde"4:07
4."Eyes on You"3:17
5."Prince of Wales"5:35
6."The Sound of Leaving"3:32
7."Love You Less"3:09
8."Laughing in the Sugar Bowl"2:16
9."Empty Bottle"5:53
10."Come Clean, Dark Thing"3:22
11."I'm Telling You Now"3:29
12."Triage"3:36
13."Lost to Me"4:10
14."Into the Sun"0:34
15."The Museum of Broken Relationships"2:35
16."Alternica"5:58
17."Coda"1:56
Total length:58:46

Personnel

Credits adapted from AllMusic.[18]

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[19] 159
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[20] 11
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[21] 15

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label
United States July 10, 2015
  • CD
  • digital download
 El Camino
Australia July 10, 2015
  • CD
  • digital download
  • vinyl
 Warner Bros Records
Region Date Format(s) Label
United States January 2016
El Camino

References

  1. ↑ "Amazon.com – Laughing in the Sugar Bowl – Veruca Salt – MP3 Downloads". Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Geslani, Michelle (2015-05-19). "Veruca Salt announces reunion album, Ghost Notes, premieres "Laughing in the Sugar Bowl"". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 2015-05-20.
  3. 1 2 Hornbostel, Brendan (July 10, 2015). "Veruca Salt reunites to tell story of breakup, recovery in 'Ghost Notes'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  4. ↑ Caro, Mark. "Veruca Salt reunites years after explosive breakup". chicagotribune.com. July 3, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  5. ↑ Zoladz, Lindsay (March 17, 2014). "Veruca Salt Reunite, Original Lineup Releasing First New Music in 14 Years". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Veruca Salt – Ghost Notes". Discogs. Retrieved January 16, 2017.
  7. 1 2 "Reviews for Ghost Notes by Veruca Salt". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
  8. ↑ Phares, Heather. "Ghost Notes – Veruca Salt : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  9. 1 2 McCown, Alex (July 10, 2015). "Veruca Salt is back, turning old wounds into new catharsis". The A.V. Club. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Corcoran, Nina (July 2, 2015). "Veruca Salt – Ghost Notes – Review". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
  11. 1 2 Williams, Matt (July 8, 2015). "Veruca Salt – Ghost Notes Review". Now Magazine. Now Communications. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  12. ↑ Gleason, Holly (July 7, 2015). "Veruca Salt: Ghost Notes Review". Paste. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  13. ↑ Joyce, Colin (July 9, 2015). "Review: Veruca Salt Erupt Anew on 'Ghost Notes'". Spin. Buzzmedia. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  14. ↑ Moores, JR (July 10, 2015). "Veruca Salt – Ghost Notes". Under the Radar. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
  15. ↑ Tang, Estelle (July 13, 2015). "Veruca Salt Ghost Notes". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  16. ↑ AllMusic staff (December 30, 2015). "Best Rock Albums of 2015". AllMusic. Retrieved December 30, 2015. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  17. ↑ iTunes – Music – Ghost Notes by Veruca Salt
  18. ↑ "Ghost Notes – Veruca Salt – Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Veruca Salt Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
  20. ↑ "Veruca Salt Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard.
  21. ↑ "Veruca Salt Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard.
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