By Charlie Maybee
Matt Park, also known as Bite The Boxer, is back with a new music video for “Like A Ghost” which continues his trek into the world of alt-pop, synthwave, lo-fi, and indie pop to create a dreamy and lush soundscape.
Visually, we see Park playing different instruments gradually fading between them at various moments very much like the song’s namesake. Projected onto his plain white shirt and a blank background are scenes from the classic horror film Nosferatu, which feel less scary here and more nostalgic. The idea of ghosts within the music video drive home feelings of uneasy déjà vu where all the elements in the shot feel familiar, but, in this visual remix, offers a new way of seeing it that feels uncanny.
The vocals are like breathy whispers setting the bar of volume that the rest of the instrumentation won’t cross. There’s an enormous amount of blending happening so that no singular line of sound stands out among the rest. Everything feels very spread out and even in a way that feels like they are sonically buried and indistinct from each other – as if all the noise were extending from a singular source.
There is a lot to love about the way that Bite The Boxer is thinking about sampling and vamping in the overall composition. It is an admirable effort that puts forward the best of DIY aesthetics and effects without coming on too strong. In the end, we’re left simply with the traces of a feeling rather than something fully tangible to walk away with, and much like a ghost, it will haunt you for the rest of the day.
“Like A Ghost” is available on major streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. The accompanying music video is also available on YouTube. Find this and more great music on the Alchemical Records Multigenre Mixture playlist on Spotify and YouTube.
Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
