Track By Tracks: Ghosts Of Sunset - Breathe (2023)

1. Afterthought:

Todd sat down to write an opening “rocker” similar to the song “Tonight” from our previous effort “No Saints in the City”. Todd has a ton of pop-punk influences and really lets them shine here. The song is built around a simple, driving riff throughout the song. Musically the goal was to keep the song lean and to the point. The “don’t bore us, get to the chorus” mentality we learned from bands like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Story-wise, we hear the tale of the ignored “arm candy” of a man who only sees value in what the person he’s with does for his reputation and standing in his world. A stranger offers the open door to a life where love matters and value comes from connection.

2. Hide Her Heart:

We laugh about this one because it almost didn’t make the album. Again, musically the goal was a big chorus and a musical structure that split the difference between punk rock and the early 80s guitar rock of bands like Sammy Hagar and Night Ranger. The story here is simple, after being hurt so many times, the song's protagonist makes the decision to give up on love. It’s a simple concept, but it’s universal due to the fact that everyone has had that time in their life when they say “never again”. The path to find “the one”, is littered with broken hearts, broken vows, and broken dreams. However, the thought that the stranger looking at you from across the room could make it all worthwhile keeps us going back for more. The opening line “Susie’s crying ugly in a night club bathroom” hits it on the head.

3. Move Along:

Blues-based rock n roll in our DNA. From the Stones and the Faces, to the Black Crowes and Faster Pussycat, nothing beats 12 bars of dirty rock n roll. Move Along could’ve found a home on any Faster Pussycat record and is almost an homage to the band. The horns and piano harken to the Rolling Stones “Exile on Mainstreet”. Tons of swagger and attitude throughout. That stinging guitar solo comes courtesy of Ricky Dover Jr from Tuk Smith and the Restless Hearts. Lyrically, it’s about the house guest from hell. The one who’s gonna “crash for the night” and ends up opening your front door to a host of characters from a movie you never wanted to see.

4. Cocaine Kisses:

This one is a favorite for many. The music comes from Todd, and at times has a 90s “alternative rock” feel. Lyrically, it’s about addiction and what it does within a relationship. Ultimatums are issued, and threats are made, but when it comes down to it, just one kiss, just one, “it won’t happen again” can keep you in it, believing it will get better. We’ve all set those boundaries, only to move them to accommodate keeping someone we love in our lives.

5. Two Tickets to Tokyo:

A spy thriller set to a Hanoi Rocks-like music track. Two Tickets is pure adrenaline. The lyrics focus on a couple, who, due to whatever their nefarious vocation might be, have got to leave their home, assume new identities and become new people in order to remain alive. A high-speed car chase with guitars. The sax solo SOUNDS like the congested streets of the city.

6. Gettin’ Over You:

Summer love isn’t always like the movies, but nothing makes you forget the one who left faster than the one who’s here. The music for this one was inspired by summer nights at the beach, on the boardwalk, or down at the shore. The keyboards tip their hat to the debut album by Bon Jovi. The guitar lines serve to point the song to a pre-chorus and chorus that talk about how the new girl serving to help forget the old one but missing the key ingredient of truly being in love. The summer radio is filled with songs about the magic of falling in love and the main character can’t seem to escape it or the fact that whatever space this summer fling is filling isn’t in his heart.

7. Mine Tonight:

The classic tale of forbidden love. From Romeo and Juliet to “Young Turks” by Rod Stewart, the idea is that the only way to have what you want is to run. Musically, there were very few reference ideas discussed during the writing process of this. As parts were falling into place, each one kept pointing to the next and helping move the story forward. You can almost see the two young lovers pulling away from their hometown with shaking hands and excited hearts.

8. Don’t Blame Love:

This was the first song written for “Breathe”. The promotion cycle for the previous album “No Saints in the City” was in full swing when this song was written. Musically, it’s got elements of later Def Leppard and harmonies that would be at home on a Beatles or Enuff Znuff album. The sense of space and longing is helped by the minimalist approach to the chiming guitars and keyboards. Patrick Kennison of Lita Ford and Heaven Below helps round out the soaring vocal harmonies that lift the chorus to a higher level. Lyrically, it’s the idea that once you’ve been hurt, it’s hard to want to dive back in, but of course, you throw caution to the wind and try again.

9. Nobody’s Baby:

A straight-up rocker with its roots in 1970’s glitter rock and 80’s glam. The guitar line is a reflection of bands like Sweet, Slade, and Mott the Hoople. Lyrically it’s a tale of losing innocence while trying to put on a brave face. Once in the safety of your own four walls, the realization that you’re all alone. In the quest for creating that new life in a new place and “starting over”, one of the first things that have to be cut loose are the ties of the past.

10. Never Go Back:

Never Go Back could find a home on Bon Jovi’s “New Jersey” or Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run”. The chorused guitars we allowed to drive the entire song along while an acoustic chordal line made sure to keep everything slightly rootsy and small-town. Lyrically it’s never revealed why the protagonist had to leave his home and his lover behind, but it’s obvious that no matter how many times he attempts it, he’ll never be able to connect or recapture what used to be. Ricky Dover Jr from Tuk Smith and Restless Hearts turns in another smoking solo, complete with harmony lines that were born from bands like Thin Lizzy.