Get ready for a song that makes you stop and listen, because Yellow Ostrich’s new single “Ghost” offers a punch in the stomach that is going to make you rethink every relationship you’ve ever had. Lyrical content aside, let’s first talk about sound. With “Ghost,” Yellow Ostrich departs from their more quintessential brand of indie rock and into something far more experimental. Starting out a capella, the song gradually picks up its percussive elements and becomes more complex as it goes.
The punch-in-the-stomach aspect refers to the conflicting nature between lead singer Alex Schaaf’s lulling, inviting voice with the repeated whispers of “I’m so tired of you…” There’s a particular brand of bitterness that develops when someone is telling you off in an especially ambivalent way. “You’re everything that I thought / I need something new.” Ouch. The lyrics are almost whimsical in their bluntness — I found myself in multiple instances rewinding the song wondering if I had misunderstood the words. I usually hadn’t.
Yellow Ostrich received a bit of flack earlier this year when their new album Strange Land fell short of their debut The Mistress. It seems that possibly in light of this opinion, the group has taken the Ghost EP in a very different direction. No complaints here. For a group who has created a great deal of music in a relatively short period of time, it seems the appropriate time to change things up.