At times the best music occurs when artists take everything away and leave their most fragile selves, and Love Ghost does just that in their song, Car Crash. This piano ballad sees Finnegan Bell moving a long way out of his usual style of eclecticism to create something that is heartbreakingly intimate and painfully effective.
The shaking voice instantly pulls you into this frail emotional environment The earnestness of the delivery by Bell is one that has the weight of something that is revealing a deep secret. His voice cracks with emotion, in a manner that feels entirely unrehearsed, and turns what might otherwise have been yet another breakup song into something that hurts much more.
The minimalist style is ideal in this case That lonely piano causes all the pauses and inflections to count, and the slight percussion provides enough texture to ground the feeling without distracting it. It is the restraint that only confidence will allow–confidence that the substance of the song is so good it does not need heavy production.
The car crash metaphor conveys something of the suddenness and violence of heartbreak but also something beautiful in it. Bell discusses how love can seem like a collision- unexpected, devastating yet something is left in its wake. The confession-like lyrics also provide this feeling of closeness that you are reading somebody’s personal diary.
What I find most interesting is that this is a display of the variety that Love Ghost can perform outside of their typical alternative rock sound. Whereas their heavier records address trauma with teeth bared, “Car Crash” delights in the brokenness through the quiet contemplation instead. The overall effect of the production is cinematic in nature and really contributes to this haunting feeling that is left long after the last piano chords die away. This is music to sit with the uncomfortable feelings without trying to avoid them.
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