Since the release of their first demo in 2023, fans have waited with bated breath for the arrival of Haiver’s long awaited debut. This month the wait was finally over with ‘The Ghost Dance’ producing a collection of songs rooted in hurt and hope.
Ghost Dance opens with a pounding drum beat reminiscent of frontman Billy Kennedy’s previous band Frightened Rabbit. Melodic guitar lines effectively glide through the chorus whilst the repeated lines ‘pull me in, spit me out, black hole’ echo throughout. A strong start.
The first burst of optimism comes from Give with its fingerpicked chords laying the foundation of a simple yet effective track. The chord change instrumental with added strings shows growth before the final verse and chorus. A keyboard descends into Hand Me Down before reaching the rawest track of the album: Funeral. Referring to the loss of his friend and bandmate, this is a painful yet beautiful tribute which I’m sure will also greatly affect those who were fans of Scott Hutchison.
Next on the track listing comes positive facing track Better which was written and recorded with fellow Scottish singer/songwriter Devin Casson about self-improvement and getting yourself out of dark times. A wonderful sentiment and one of standouts from the album. Although Kennedy cites Love To Hate as his least favourite track of the release, you must admit it does include one of the catchiest choruses and adds some pace to the tracklist.
So Slow is another song built around the constant flow of acoustic guitar chords, allowing other areas of the band to effectively accentuate their parts. The percussive choices are particularly tasteful. Held is a domestic abuse horror story put to music. Another tough listen on the album but an important one.
Tortured may be the ‘The Ghost Dance’ at the peak of its powers. It is the most successful in bottling what was so unique sonically about the Frightened Rabbit sound whilst adding sprinklings of Haiver magic. Possibly my favourite of the album.
Closing out the album are Crime and Fight Me before ending with a short but sweet instrumental Ta! which I interpreted as ‘Ta for listening all the way to end!’
Overall, this is a striking piece of art which I’m glad made its way into the world. A must for all Frightened Rabbit fans or just fans of honest, miserable yet optimistic Scottish folk-rock. I can already tell that this will become an important album that I can turn to on even the darkest of days and will definitely be making an appearance in my favourite albums of the year.
Haiver’s debut album ‘The Ghost Dance’ is out now. Listen to it here!
You can also enjoy their setlist at Assai Records, Aberdeen in the playlist below.