Silver Ghost Shimmer – Soft Landing

John Fryer has a long history making and shaping music. Look on the back of the sleeves of the most important releases from the Mute or 4AD stables from the 1980s and his name will probably pop up as an engineer or producer. Speak and Spell? He was there. Upstairs at Erics? Yep. Head Over Heels? Check. Pump Up the Volume? Mmm-hmm. Not to mention his work in This Mortal Coil and The Hope Blister, nor his role in putting Nine Inch Nails over the top. Fryer’s been at the coal face when musical history was made so many times that it’s of immense interest when he has a new project to share. In this case, it’s a shiny, dark number with Pinky Turzo on vocals, layering delicate and spiky sounds like the finest muslin draped over thistles. Silver Ghost Shimmer cite 1960s pop acts like The Shangri Las as influences, but they have a post-punk pedigree like no other.