NEW CT MUSIC: As the Moonlight Backs the Sun by Ghost Child
Cover art by local Connecticut artist Pat Regan
The debut album from the Groton duo shows promise for the future, both as a studio band and for live performance.
Zach Dunn and Jon “Cray” Maynard, the pop-punk two piece known as Ghost Child have new Connecticut music for you to enjoy. As the Moonlight Backs the Sun features exciting guitar play and bold percussion that brings to mind some of the genre’s most popular bands from the early 2000s, like Brand New. The Groton duo is multi-talented as well, with Dunn and Maynard sharing song-writing credits and each taking turns on vocals, guitar, and bass.
As the Moonlight Backs the Sun includes several highlights. “Oh, Love,” where Dunn and Maynard explore beautiful vocal harmonies and find a nice groove that carries on throughout the track. It’s a relatively easy-going track where listeners can find a moment of zen. It strays a little from the pop-punk feel of the rest of the album, but it’s very well done and shows off some of the range Ghost Child can play with. “The Way You Lived,” “Among the Clouds,” “Hand Rail Suicide,” and “Better Off” each feature the intense guitar play that has long been emblematic of the genre. “Among the Clouds” and “Better Off” are particularly strong tracks each with varying tempos and strong vocals.
For fans of emo or screamo, both “The Child” and, more prominently, “Vaapad” have moments where the vocalist dishes out full-throated screams into the microphone. While As the Moonlight Backs the Sun can be somewhat uneven at times, it’s plays better and better with each listen, and they have a sound that could potentially translate well to the live local circuit; their sound would play well with the patrons of many of the venues around the state and mesh well with several of the more popular DIY bands from Connecticut. Dunn and Maynard prove themselves to be good musicians who can bring a variety of emotion in their vocal performances. If they can bring that same vibrancy to the stage and connect with crowds, there is no doubt that Ghost Child has the potential to be good contributors to the Connecticut music scene.