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Ghosts of the Kodiak / Press

“Intelligent and ambitious, Terrestrials shows that the band can still dream loudly. Whether you call it pop or indie, you are probably still right. The group can slip in and out of rigid definitions and my only complaint is that South Carolina doesn’t have a sole claim on them anymore.”

“If he lived again, William Faulkner’s favorite band might be Ghosts of the Kodiak. “Dirt on Your Face,” from the band’s 2013 EP Lifting Up the Ceilings, could serve as a soundtrack for a chapter out of The Sound of The Fury. Its intricately woven narrative grapples with redemption in the midst of decay — “Everyone speaks of your amazing grace / But I can see the dirt on your face / You say for heaven’s sake / Have you forgotten about this place” — its words backed by stormy sheets of distortion. The song delves into themes that would sit right at home in Faulkner’s fictional setting of Yoknapatawpha County.”

“With Ghosts of the Kodiak’s music, words like “almost” and “somewhat” don’t apply. These guys — reared in Sumter, but now based in Charlotte — don't do anything halfway. When they want to play hard rock, they take it to emotional extremes with huge chords and screeching, impassioned vocals. When they want to get fancy with something lighter and more complex, they write a damn piano sonata. For Ghosts of the Kodiak, the world is black and white, and there aren’t many gray areas. Luckily, their talent is strong enough to support their dramatic tendencies. -”

“On last year’s Lifting Up the Ceilings, the Charlotte-via-South Carolina group Ghosts of the Kodiak further refined its knack for heaping moody art-rock atmosphere onto earnest emo tantrums. Guitars shimmer, spark and then explode, injecting graceful nuance into a genre frequently derided for its knee-jerk dynamic shifts. The words match the music, exploring personal struggles without becoming overly self-centered.”

“...this Indie-Rock band has packed more depth and passion into their latest release, “Lifting Up the Ceilings”, than most bands pack into an entire album. And they did it in less than 20 minutes.”

“It’s rare to find a band as intrinsically dynamic as Ghosts of the Kodiak and their latest EP (Lifting Up The Ceilings) stays true to that. Weaving the listener in and out of stripped down and full band sections, Lifting Up The Ceilings engages the listener more than the average EP/Album where musical predictability has become a genre in and of itself. For those lucky enough to discover the band, they’ll find that almost each individual track manages to tell a musical story, with screeching highs and delicate lows.”

“Five years ago in South Carolina it was All Get Out, Colour Revolt, and Manchester Orchestra building, and carry the torch in the indie rock scene. These days we’re seeing the fruition of their labor... Now it’s I am Carpenter, Ghosts of the Kodiak, and Where’s Wolf that carry that torch.”