If you asked me what Pop-punk should sound like, my first thought would be Real Friends. But if you wanted something more niche with just as much pop off the bat, then Arcane Ghosts is for you. I am enamored with Arcane Ghosts. Their sound is addictive. I still remember vividly listening to their Human Interference EP on the train ride home after work in 2019. It was part of the soundtrack to my life after college. Every subsequent single of theirs has me hyped up as much as that EP 6 years ago.
Every song on their initial Human Interference EP and Distant Youth EP is loud and in your face and filled with catchy riffs. San Francisco is the newest single from Toronto-based band Arcane Ghosts. And this Arcane Ghosts song is subdued compared to other high flyers they’ve put out. San Francisco takes the route of self-reflection, feeling at a low point, and with that, the loud riffs I came in expecting were replaced with light-plucking guitar riffs. Instead, San Francisco takes this slow build to an energetic climax. The infectious melody is there all the same, Arcane Ghosts have this knack for writing some of the most addicting songs I can find.
A romantic soiree about a city 2,300 miles away, dreaming of another life. I love this tone of isolation. San Francisco hits on my favorite question: “What am I doing with my life?”. The chorus repeats “Time will pass me by / Whether I pause and wonder why” questioning why he feels stuck in a world moving past him. I always find myself yelling into the void with this exact feeling, brewing up to a release. Arcane Ghosts will always know exactly how to hit directly into my heart.
Written by Thomas Peterson
