“Some conversations never really do end. Even after the person is gone their memory can be as potent as their presence.”
RISE take on the subject of grief in “Talking To Your Ghost Again” which is a very personal rock track born out of the loss of their original singer Steve Kinley who died in 2022 after a very short spell with cancer. It’s all about missing someone who’s gone and the way you can still be in touch with them, even if they’re not physically there. The title is very much the essence of the feeling for anyone who’s ever lost someone; the desire to just keep talking to them, to remember them and to wish they were still around.
The emotional heft of the piece is absolutely in stayMellow with him on lead vocal. That’s one of the things that really defines the track. There’s a real sense of feeling in the way he sings it, the range he has allowing the emotion to come through without at all sacrificing the strength of the performance. He doesn’t just sing it as a sad story. His delivery gives it a real sense of reflection, of yearning and a desire to hang on to that person. The vocal harmonies are also very significant. RISE mixed them right up top in the track so they’re very much in the mix and they do add a real dimension to the emotional character of the song. They’re absolutely integral to the way the song feels as a piece of music that’s meant to be emotional. The vocals aren’t just in the song, they’re at the heart of how it conveys its emotion. Brian Petch’s guitar work is another real standout. It’s very detailed and well executed, that’s what gives the track its character. It’s a far more prog oriented record than some of the more recent outings and the twin 12 string guitar parts from Petch and stayMellow are a real asset. The guitars give the arrangement a real breadth and depth and that’s what enables the music to take on the emotional weight of the subject. Rather than just being a sad song it actually ends up with a very uplifting feel thanks to the guitar work.
That contrast is what makes ‘Talking To Your Ghost Again’ such a powerful song. It’s a sad subject, but the band have arrived at a sound which is more than just sad. There’s a real sense of appreciation for the person in question and an attempt to find comfort in the memories. It took the song a long time to get to that emotional place and that’s a testament to the seriousness with which the band have approached such a personal subject. As Paul Kinley put it, it’s very much a song for the people who knew Steve. RISE are a four piece band with Sam Kinley (also known as stayMellow) on bass and vocals, Paul Kinley on keyboards and backing vocals, Alex Mahoney on drums and Brian Petch on guitar. It’s a very solid rock song with a strong melodic vocal hook, synths and guitars to form the basis of it. The progressive rock elements really do make this a release that seems tailor made for the subject matter. Talking to your ghost again is really the theme of the song. It’s a song about the ghost of someone who’s gone. It’s a very expressive song with some very good vocals, some excellent harmonies and a very detailed twin 12 string guitar part. It’s a tribute to someone who’s passed which recognises the grief without it being the only thing in the room. There’s absolutely no doubt about the sadness of it, but there’s also love, there’s memory and there’s a real desire to celebrate the person who’s clearly been a massive influence on the people who knew him.
English