Written By Noah Bass
By Storm – My Ghosts Go Ghost (Review)
I waited three years for this album, and I don’t regret a second of it. When they originally began releasing new music in 2023, I wasn’t sure if a possible album was ever going to be able to top their previous record By the Time I Get to Phoenix, but it’s clear they’ve spent this time absolutely perfecting their sound.
Starting with the first track “Can I Have You For Myself,” the slow-burning tearjerker begins gently with a guitar and RiTchie’s singing mixed with crazy vocal effects, immediately separating this album from anything off of their last record. Around three and a half minutes in we’re hit with an absolutely punishing beat that rides out until the end of the song, RiTchie tastefully holding off on rapping allowing for the instrumental to fully take over and act as a sort of haunting second presence.
Things really get amped up with “Dead Weight.” Again, the track begins minimally with a guitar, but this time much more fast-paced drums come into play. They quickly become louder until finally a totally battered bassline enters and makes for a sound that I can only describe as some sort of technologically advanced xaviersobased jerk hit. In this song RiTchie seems to be speaking on feelings of regret, and the want to go back in time, repeating one of the greatest lyrics from the album: “I woke up in a sweat with yesterday still stuck to me like glue.”
The deep punchy drums mixed with the mystical acoustics on “Grapefruit” create a completely surreal atmosphere, but it is quickly brought back down to earth with “In My Town.” We hear RiTchie rap about his past as well as what seem to be the real life struggles he’s facing today. When this track, as well as “Zig Zag” were originally released as singles, I wasn’t sure about the way I felt they were going to hold up in the context of an album. However after hearing them in album form, I’ve realized they work perfectly. Using the ladder track, By Storm builds tension in a way that will keep you at the edge of your seat with the slowly intensifying instrumentals and increasingly energetic vocals.
I quickly realized the song sequencing was put together in a way that is really something special once “Best Interest” began, as we get a break from the more “energetic” songs and are met with an eerie beat that is exactly what I expected once I read the song featured one of the greatest lyricists of the 2020s: Billy Woods, and he unsurprisingly does not let down.
After what is sonically the darkest moment on the album, the following three track run keeps things sounding much more upbeat, beginning with “Double Trio 2”. This song sounds like a more grandiose, sort of re-animated version of the beginning single “Double Trio”, and feels absolutely epic throughout its entire runtime. Next comes what is probably my favorite track on the album: “And I Dance.” This song gets knocked off its hinges around the 2:50 mark, as we’re met with crazy effects that are seemingly tearing into the music itself until all that remains is a blissful ambiance.
Finally, “GGG” comes to end the album, and it’s absolutely beautiful. Explaining what I interpret as “the meaning behind” the title of the album, RiTchie leaves us with last words of wisdom in regard to possible regret and missed opportunities, similar to the beginning track, allowing the album to come full circle. To match, we’re met again with another beautiful instrumental that relies heavily on the gentle guitar.
This record is everything I didn’t know I wanted in experimental rap music following their previous album. Injury Reserve have changed their sound nearly every time they have released music over the years, and this is again something completely unique and original, but not at all what I was expecting.
