Rachael Dunn’s Alpha Ghost delivers an engaging brand of soulful acoustic pop, with Dunn’s vocals beautifully conveying her image-laden lyrics overlaid on Alex Dunford’s skillfully crafted soundscapes.
The album opens with the soulful ‘Out in The Storm’, the bass line drives the song forward and flourishes of glockenspiel and lead guitar bring the track to life. This is contrasted by the albums eponymous track ‘Alpha Ghost’ with its simple acoustic feel and Rachael’s delicate vocals. The Mood changes with the darker ‘Closed Door’ its powerful lyrics and double tracked vocals reminding me of Alela Diane. ‘Falling Fast’ feels intimate with the piano adding greatly to the feel of the track. The expansive ‘Hold The Light’ continues the darker feel with crunching electric guitars and a feel reminiscent of Radiohead.
The second half of the album continues with the piano led ‘Violet’, Dunn resists the urge to overload the track instead opting for a simple, honest arrangement.
An unexpected gem comes in the form of the Stones-like ‘Walking Backwards’ with its catchy chorus, foot tapping percussion and more raucous lead guitar. This is immediately contrasted by the acoustic charm of ‘Hang in Time’ and the album’s most intimate track ‘Hide’. The simple acoustic arrangement closes the album beautifully. However it does make me think that perhaps some of the other songs would have benefited from a similar stripped back sound.
Alpha Ghost is a genre-spanning, varied record with Rachael Dunn’s soaring vocals being ably supported by multi instrumentalist and producer Alex Dunford. While I think some of the tracks could have benefited from a less slick production this does not detract from the engaging album Rachael Dunn has created.
The album is available now on Amazon and iTunes
You can also read my earlier interview with Rachael where she spoke about the making of Alpha Ghost here.
This was my first review written for LiverpoolAcoustic.co.uk
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