When it comes to Bruce Soord, you think straight away of The Pineapple Thief. Bruce has been writing, recording, and unleashing music for 25 years. Bruce has come a long, long way to prove to himself he’s more than just the founder of the band who has been around since 1999. He’s also been under the mixing realms. Ranging from Katatonia, Fire Garden, Opeth, Tim Bowness, Luna Kiss, and the upcoming remix of Jethro Tull’s 1984 album Under Wraps.
There’s not a single stop sign for Soord to slow down. But let’s not forget his solo work. He has released three studio albums ranging from 2015 to 2023. That and his fourth studio album, Ghosts in the Park, are his most personal releases, detailing themes on loss, memory, and grief following the loss of his dad. There’s the acoustic boundary, the songwriting, and the compositions Bruce has brought to the table when it comes to his latest release.
Released on the Kscope label, Ghosts in the Park is one of those albums that hits home, reflecting the loss of a loved one, and it hits you when you look back at those wonderful moments you have with your loved one or your parents to focus on the good that was always there in our childhood. Walking up and down the stairs with the clock-ticking vibe on the guitar behind ‘You Made a Promise’ with an opened door to reflect the memories and being filled with upset that they never got the chance to say goodbye.
Between ‘Kept Me Thinking’, ‘Concepcion’, and ‘Our Predicament’ is a walk down the road by finding ourselves on what the next chapter will be by moving forward after losing their loved ones. Double-tracking vocals and folky boundaries—you could tell that Bruce was listening to a lot of Nick Drake’s music for inspiration, which is evident throughout the two tracks between Pink Moon and Bryter Later period that flows into the void.
‘Meet Me on the Downs’ hints at the mental breakdown as it hits home with its layered sound as we witness someone just finally breaking it all down and letting all of the emotions come out of this person’s mind, while the spaced-out, country-tinged exposure behind the ‘Pillars’ gives us an insight into the drive into a spiritual journey of finding out who you are and searching for the inner self.
The ‘Day of Wrath’ showcases its minimal approach, which sees Bruce walking into this loophole introduction by traveling into the worlds of Steve Reich and Terry Riley in its orientation for the first minute and nine seconds. It then opens the door to reveal that they’re still alive and having another chance to start again, but not to be fooled by anyone in particular.
The closing title track showcases the road to recovery by clocking in at 13 minutes in its acoustic-like approach. Bruce’s detail by moving on can be hard to reconcile with losing the loss of his father. It can hit home with his arrangements by describing what is going on inside his head. But when those movements can bring you in, you can imagine it’s not just Soord himself, but there are others who are going through the same situation and how grief can hit hard like no one else.
