Dolly Alderton – Ghosts

admin — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 19:49:14 +0000

Sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan. But maybe we need to rethink our plans? In Dolly Alderton’s sharp and funny debut novel Ghosts, Nina Dean a successful food writer with loving friends and family, plus a new home and neighbourhood seems to have it all together.. When she meets Max, a beguiling romantic hero who tells her on date one that he’s going to marry her, it feels like all is going to plan.

But as in most romantic comedies, a man has derailed things. And everywhere she turns, she is reminded of time passing and opportunities dwindling. Friendships are fading, ex-boyfriends are moving on and, worse, everyone’s moving to the suburbs.

Is she doing it all wrong? As you’d expect from the sharp Alderton, Ghosts takes a different view. One where strong relationships can coexist alongside boozy Sundays, families thrive as well as friendships, and women can forge their own path.

One assumes there are echoes of Dolly Alderton’s own life in this – a writer, living in London, with great girlfriends and going on dates – but maybe that just makes it a more truly drawn piece. Great fun and I’m sure the precursor to many more.

The Vickers – Ghosts

admin — Sat, 17 May 2014 12:44:50 +0000

A kaleidoscopic trippy riot of an album, Ghosts is a gliding and whirling journey through sixties melodies and nineties swagger from Italian band The Vickers.

There’s a hypnotic pulse throughout, and it feels vital. All I Need echoes with the sound BRMC would make if they took a load of ‘shrooms, whilst the spiral of descent on Hear Me Now glimmers with Revolution era stunning simplicity. Flourishes of Led Zeppelin flirt with a Kasabian bounce and a delirious almost The Coral esque spaced out vibe. A dense spectrum of shades and sounds flickers in these twisting waves, luring you in until you love from the poppy first single She’s Lost to the slow, quivering On A Rope. Senseless is a personal highlight, a gentle roll of angsty acceptance, particularly when followed by the shuffling stomp of On and On. The whole thing has a dense illusory feel, subtle quivers and colourful swoops flourishing along with a hypnotic whirl, but isn’t so complex as to be baffling, chock full of pop hooks and looping melodies.
Signed to Ireland’s Ruby Music, the Florence band (Andrea Mastropietro, Federico Sereni and Francesco Marchi – swoonsome names) aren’t well known over here (can you name any Italian bands?) but surely will be soon. Wonderful stuff.

ghosts – and so she thinks

Dolly Alderton – Ghosts

The Vickers – Ghosts