t's been a rough April. Before the end of week one, my girlfriend and I had abruptly decided to terminate our relationship of two months, and though the breakup was ostensibly mutual, the whole ordeal understandably left me a smidge distraught. Then just yesterday, another ex sent me a joyous email letting me know just how wonderful her new lapdog of a boyfriend is. Ahhh, I do so love being kicked while I'm down. . . anyway, all this is just to give a bit of emotional background for the album I'm reviewing this week, The Ghost's This is a Hospital. For you see, The Ghost belong to a genre that's been dominating my playlists recently: that's right, emo. (And don't laugh; I know you guys go through phases like these too. You think I'm happy about it?!)


Any genre tag as limp as "emo" begs clarification, and as it turns out, The Ghost borrow from several emotionally rocking traditions. They're not as poppy or ironic as Piebald, nor quite as histrionic as Cursive, nor as balls-out cathartic as At the Drive-In, but they do manage to hash an appreciably distinctive sound out of their peers' signature attributes. This is especially impressive considering that This is a Hospital came out less than a year after the band's first show. Still, these guys are far from groundbreaking, and in that respect somewhat disposable for non-devotees of the genre. . . but in a pinch, they'll satisfy your craving for loud, heartfelt dissonance.


Singer Brian Moss is the band's secret weapon. . . well, seeing as he's front-and-center on every track, guess he's not much of a secret, but whatever: he knows how to bring the vocal with credible and appropriate feeling. In his calmer moments he recalls a more toned-down Chino from the Deftones, while he manages to attain almost Refused-like rage levels during the louder passages. Moss's lyrics aren't bad either, as he makes sure to fit at least one or two memorable lines into each song. In the most infectious tracks these lines hit during the chorus; take for example the contemptuous yet catchy Quicksand-ism "I've seen these kingdoms rise and fall/I've seen these faces change with the seasons/I am your laughing shadow. . ." from "Death by the Bay." However, sometimes he leans too heavily on indie-lyrical cliches like "home is where the heart is" and "you get what you deserve." Oh well, nobody's perfect. . . not even indie rock critics.


The Ghost are pretty good, but as of now they dole out their brilliance mostly in flashes. Almost every track contains a few satisfying sections; unfortunately, the band hasn't yet learned how to keep the momentum going from part to part and from song to song. Of course, finely built tunes like "Death by the Bay" and "On and On" suggest that sustained excellence just a matter of playing together long enough to obtain the required tightness and group writing acumen. But for now these guys are sharp enough to get by on sound alone, so if relationshit is driving you nuts, just follow This is a Hospital's press-release tagline: "the healing begins. . ."