ALBUM REVIEW: Tearjerker – Ghosts (Little Rocket Records)
There must be something in the water in Sunderland these days, as it seems to be churning out one great punk band after another.
Tearjerker were formed in 2021, and released their self-titled debut album two years later. Now they’re back with the follow-up, and it sees the melodic punks step things up several notches.
Mick O’Brien (vocals/bass), Christopher French (lead guitar/backing vox), Marty Jackson (rhythm guitar/BV), and Brent Copeland (drums/BV) deal in huge riffs, and their rhythm section could wake the dead, but there’s plenty of melody in their sound.
Where the first album was a new band finding their feet, this one sees Tearjerker more comfortable in their own skin, and moving into bigger, louder, territory. It explores loss, memories, relationships and the ghosts that stay with us.
Predecessors like Leatherface and HDQ are obviously a huge influence, along with contemporaries such as Diaz Brothers, but I’m picking up bits of early Social Distortion here too, particularly in Mick’s vocal delivery.
After a short instrumental intro, things explode into life with Imposter Syndrome, a message of positivity for anyone who feels they don’t belong, while Ghosts, the title track, seems to be about being haunted by your past.
Siren, released a couple of years ago as a very limited (50 copies) lathe cut 7in, is a great song, which builds up nicely from a slow start before exploding into prime Social Distortion territory. A message to a friend who’s thinking of ending it all, it asks “if there’s something I could say, to show you that I love you, would that change your mind?”
Mick puts in one of his best vocal performances on Not The One, about the inner conflict of deciding whether to stay with a cheating partner, confessing: “I don’t know myself no more, I never did/And I blame myself, instead of anyone…” It’s one of the standout tracks here, full of vim and vigour.
Out of Touch is a thought-provoking song about going back to the place you grew up and seeing how much it’s changed. Its chugging riff reminds me of Californian punk band Face To Face – a very good thing indeed.
The pace is slowed by If, a love letter to a lost loved one which embraces the quiet-loud-quiet dynamic to good effect, but there’s nothing restrained about the energetic Untamed, which was the flip side to the Siren 7in.
Humble Pie is another message aimed at a troubled soul, as Mick sings “Let me fix you, I’ve been trying all along/But the never-ending issues, just keep playing like the song.”
Jezebel, released as a digital single last month, is inspired by the Salem witch trials and the enduring image of burning at the stake — a popular misconception which has become deeply embedded in folklore.
We’re nearing the end, but there’s still time for another highlight, the punchy Grand Delusions, another song about a fractured relationship. There’s real yearning as Mick sings: “I will leave the light on, come back and haunt me, stay for another day…and you keep it up, till it comes unstuck again.”
Pictures of You, which closes the album, is another song about an absent friend or lover, and you can hear the regret in the chorus: “So long farewell, goodbye, don’t go gently into that lonely night, lights go out in the darkest of rooms, now I’m left with these pictures of you.”
At a time when most punk bands seem to be railing against the state of the world, Ghosts is a very personal album, full of power, passion, love, regret, and just a little bit of hope. 8.5/10.
- Ghosts by Tearjerker is available on transparent blue vinyl (500 copies), Japanese import CD with Obi strip (300), and cassette (100). They are all available from the band directly or Little Rocket Records HERE.
