Casey Chandler—a singer-songwriter based in Woodstock, New York who goes by Galapaghost—released one of the best under-the-radar LPs of 2016 and he’s back again with a brand new full-length titled Pulse. Exploring more musical territories than on his last release, Chandler has enlisted various musicians who contribute layers of electronics and instrumentation that add plenty of depth to his sound. Despite some of the seemingly quirky moods and arrangements on the album, though, Pulse really touches on some serious themes.
“The title track on this album, ‘Pulse,’ was heavily inspired by the nightclub terrorist attack in Orlando [in 2016], which was called Pulse,” Chandler explains. “It was the deadliest attack on the LGBT community in U.S. history. The album is definitely not a political album at all, but some of the songs are about how I’ve become disillusioned with America and somewhat about being caught in the middle of not fully feeling ‘American’ but not feeling quite European after living there for two years.”
He continues, “Some songs are just about figuring out what the hell I’m going to do with my life if I don’t find success in music and trying to come to terms with that as I enter my 30s. The album was self-produced and recorded in Italy in 15 days. A recurring effect we used on the album was distortion on the drums and delay on the vocals to give it a grittier feel than my previous albums.”
You can stream Pulse (which is out now) in its entirety below via Spotify where you can also check out the video for the album’s title track detailed by Chandler above. You can also head to the Galapaghost website for more information.
