GhostChant - Sincerity [BBE Records]

A relatively fresh face on the UK Bass circuit is Joe Cornwell a.k.a. GhostChant who has seen the release of his fourteen track debut album "Sincerity" on BBE Records in late September 2015. Influenced by the likes of Bonobo, Burial and UK Garage / 2Step leading figure MJ Cole explores sonic territories of wistful Future Garage with the albums cinematic title song "Sincerity", creates an exciting 4/4 meets swingin' stop-and-go Garage hybrid based on warm, all embracing bass waves with "Feel Nothing" and enters more mainstream compatible realms with the romantic vocal approach of "Laid To Rest" sporting spiralling synth and echoes of rave horns blown over from the other side. "Oceans Between" featuring Fifi Rong on vocal duties is more on a Downbeat-y / Post Garage tip, "4th City" fuses Future Garage and a strangely fascinating MC abuse for maximum dancefloor impact whilst "Habituary" kinda reminisces of the melancholia-infused darkness once introduced to the world by artists like Tricky and the "Sirens Song" is more on a Pop vs. Bass tip for loungier moments in life. "Stay Gold" featuring Ragz on the mic is a proper Future Soul slow jam best rinsed when things are about to get down between lovers and so is the sweet, yet still bass heavy "Reasons" which kinda reminds us of the artistic approach of Raffertie's Ninja Tune-release "Sleep Of Reason". More slomo goodness is to be found in "In Secret" which might be referred to as perfect closing tune after a long Dubstep night out, waving punters goodbye with sweetest melodies, "Nights Like These" featuring Sarah Zad once again covers the Lounge / Downbeat side of things and the picked guitar on "Enigmatic" brings in a little kitsch-loaden feel of Balearic terrace sounds before GhostChant is finally "Coming Home" with a little surprise - a take on Balearic House which is a bit over the top for our tastes. But despite these two last tracks there's absolutely nothing wrong with GhostChant's quite diverse debut at all and we're pretty sure that this piece will be well appreciated by fans of bass music all over the place.