Caches The Ghosts - LIVE!
Having never seen CACHES THE GHOST, I was expecting what I usually see when a ‘local band’ has a show at a bar. I was assuming there would be technical difficulties, tempos rushed, or the singer would make a frustrated scowl when he inevitably forgot a line to the latest song they had written.
I was dead wrong.
These cats were playing very challenging music that had drastic tempo changes and a wide dynamic range, all while thrashing about so you never wanted to look away. Both guitarists and bass player had the moves of an early 2000’s Dillinger Escape Plan show and kept on tapping rosewood and maple fretboards with both hands like it was something they didn’t really need to consider. The vocalist positioned himself, cleverly, behind the row of amplifiers to make use of the small stage. I like the fact that he was clearly a ‘frontman’ sort of vocalist in talent and showmanship, that didn’t seem to feel the need to run around in front of the band. Again, this added to the interesting visual. There was also an artist painting in real-time as they played. This seems a bit hippy to me, but when I looked over at the guy, he was actually kind of fun to watch. He was genuinely into it. And who can REALLY knock someone having a good time while making any sort of art?
Seeing 4 members taking part in vocals and managing not to step on one another was one of my favorite parts. The bass player harmonized beautifully, while the two guitarists had pro-level hardcore screams that were the perfect seasoning in the areas where I was waiting for the music to rise up a notch.
It must be noted that there was some hilarious banter by the lead vocalist between a few songs that was concise and witty as hell. Again, it’s not what I’m used to by local bands, with their awkwardly forced one-liners and commentary. Yet there was no mention of the uncomfortable amount of fake moustaches in that building. I fear I’ll never understand that part. So many fake moustaches...
Musically, the songs are very linear and dynamic. That second adjective gets thrown around a lot, but I don't use it lightly. When things were loud, the bottom could just drop right out and all sort of subtleties were apparent. I heard a lack of verse-chorus-verse, yet most songs had a part or two that were anthemic and made for a good sing-a-long that other bands would have gotten lazy and played 2 or 3 times between other sections. Caches knew to hold back those parts until they were needed, and gave them the moment in the sun that was called for, then pulled back to something else.
There was plenty of question/answer guitar lines that were tied together by quite unorthodox bass playing that seemed adapted to be the tonal glue for the vocals stick to. I felt the singer knew when to scream, but mostly gave melodic structure an unusual amount of attention for this style of music. It kept the feel someplace between Botch and Deftones, allowing the guitarists to belt the heavier pterodactyl calls over and between his tenor vocals.
The use of atypical effect pedals was rampant, and almost always tasteful. Some of the echo/delay effects were a bit muddled, but this could be due to the sound in the room. You can tell there are a few gear-heads in the band, and this can work for or against songwriting and performance. My opinion is that there was a refreshing balance here.
The drums were reserved yet spot on. The tempo in this sort of music is easy to foul up in a live setting when you’re in that moment and feeling it, but this fellow kept the whole gig in line. I would have liked to see or hear a little more energy coming from the written parts, or embellishments on fills, but to each their own. I realize there is a lot to be said for a drummer that knows how to hold back.
Overall, I was left in a drop-jawed state at the end, and can’t wait to hear of another Caches The Ghost show in my area. I understand that there will be some recordings available very soon. My only hope is that the members and producer find a way to get that energy I saw last night into mp3 format.
Words - Brandon Baker
I was dead wrong.
These cats were playing very challenging music that had drastic tempo changes and a wide dynamic range, all while thrashing about so you never wanted to look away. Both guitarists and bass player had the moves of an early 2000’s Dillinger Escape Plan show and kept on tapping rosewood and maple fretboards with both hands like it was something they didn’t really need to consider. The vocalist positioned himself, cleverly, behind the row of amplifiers to make use of the small stage. I like the fact that he was clearly a ‘frontman’ sort of vocalist in talent and showmanship, that didn’t seem to feel the need to run around in front of the band. Again, this added to the interesting visual. There was also an artist painting in real-time as they played. This seems a bit hippy to me, but when I looked over at the guy, he was actually kind of fun to watch. He was genuinely into it. And who can REALLY knock someone having a good time while making any sort of art?
Seeing 4 members taking part in vocals and managing not to step on one another was one of my favorite parts. The bass player harmonized beautifully, while the two guitarists had pro-level hardcore screams that were the perfect seasoning in the areas where I was waiting for the music to rise up a notch.
It must be noted that there was some hilarious banter by the lead vocalist between a few songs that was concise and witty as hell. Again, it’s not what I’m used to by local bands, with their awkwardly forced one-liners and commentary. Yet there was no mention of the uncomfortable amount of fake moustaches in that building. I fear I’ll never understand that part. So many fake moustaches...
Musically, the songs are very linear and dynamic. That second adjective gets thrown around a lot, but I don't use it lightly. When things were loud, the bottom could just drop right out and all sort of subtleties were apparent. I heard a lack of verse-chorus-verse, yet most songs had a part or two that were anthemic and made for a good sing-a-long that other bands would have gotten lazy and played 2 or 3 times between other sections. Caches knew to hold back those parts until they were needed, and gave them the moment in the sun that was called for, then pulled back to something else.
There was plenty of question/answer guitar lines that were tied together by quite unorthodox bass playing that seemed adapted to be the tonal glue for the vocals stick to. I felt the singer knew when to scream, but mostly gave melodic structure an unusual amount of attention for this style of music. It kept the feel someplace between Botch and Deftones, allowing the guitarists to belt the heavier pterodactyl calls over and between his tenor vocals.
The use of atypical effect pedals was rampant, and almost always tasteful. Some of the echo/delay effects were a bit muddled, but this could be due to the sound in the room. You can tell there are a few gear-heads in the band, and this can work for or against songwriting and performance. My opinion is that there was a refreshing balance here.
The drums were reserved yet spot on. The tempo in this sort of music is easy to foul up in a live setting when you’re in that moment and feeling it, but this fellow kept the whole gig in line. I would have liked to see or hear a little more energy coming from the written parts, or embellishments on fills, but to each their own. I realize there is a lot to be said for a drummer that knows how to hold back.
Overall, I was left in a drop-jawed state at the end, and can’t wait to hear of another Caches The Ghost show in my area. I understand that there will be some recordings available very soon. My only hope is that the members and producer find a way to get that energy I saw last night into mp3 format.
Words - Brandon Baker
Caches The Ghosts
We were recently contacted by Adrian from Caches The Ghosts, a 5 piece post hardcore group from Baytown in Texas. Having formed in 2010 and already built up a loyal following through their live performances, Adrian sent through a track from their upcoming EP for us to check out! Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Travels, Deaths, Horoscopes, Classifieds, courtesy of Caches The Ghosts.
Building into the track, you can’t help but feel initially that this is all a bit disjointed, the drums not seeming to match the guitar work going on. Within seconds though, this is all gone as the track takes form, the vocals echoing around over the backing music and the track hurtling forwards into a hammering mix of roaring guitar lines, pounding drums and changing time signatures. What’s really striking here is how they seem to have harnessed the power of hardcore and mixed it with the time signatures of Prog rock – the track twists and turns throughout, always keeping you guessing as to what is going to come next, never following a convention or allowing the listener to become complacent. There’s moments here which really hark to the likes of the Deftones and similar, all built into the track which is firmly their own – there’s nothing else like this out there. On the first listen you’ll question what the hell is going on here, but open your mind and let the music in, soon you discover that what this is is a track which has been carefully crafted, all the sections carefully considered and all of the elements of the band carefully combined to form this mix – and it’s one hell of an accomplishment!
Caches The Ghosts are still in the process of sorting their EP out so this is only a taste of what is to come, but what it shows is a band who are out there pushing the boundaries of what we understand to be music, it doesn’t follow convention and doesn’t try to be something its not, instead becoming music which can’t be defined or pigeon holed into a genre. In summary, this is going to be an exciting band to check out, so keep watching this space!
To find out more about Caches The Ghosts, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Building into the track, you can’t help but feel initially that this is all a bit disjointed, the drums not seeming to match the guitar work going on. Within seconds though, this is all gone as the track takes form, the vocals echoing around over the backing music and the track hurtling forwards into a hammering mix of roaring guitar lines, pounding drums and changing time signatures. What’s really striking here is how they seem to have harnessed the power of hardcore and mixed it with the time signatures of Prog rock – the track twists and turns throughout, always keeping you guessing as to what is going to come next, never following a convention or allowing the listener to become complacent. There’s moments here which really hark to the likes of the Deftones and similar, all built into the track which is firmly their own – there’s nothing else like this out there. On the first listen you’ll question what the hell is going on here, but open your mind and let the music in, soon you discover that what this is is a track which has been carefully crafted, all the sections carefully considered and all of the elements of the band carefully combined to form this mix – and it’s one hell of an accomplishment!
Caches The Ghosts are still in the process of sorting their EP out so this is only a taste of what is to come, but what it shows is a band who are out there pushing the boundaries of what we understand to be music, it doesn’t follow convention and doesn’t try to be something its not, instead becoming music which can’t be defined or pigeon holed into a genre. In summary, this is going to be an exciting band to check out, so keep watching this space!
To find out more about Caches The Ghosts, check out their Facebook page HERE.