Arcane Ghosts have released a pop-punk powerhouse in 'Human Interference'.

By Daniel Lückhoff-Wessels

Published Friday, 30 August 2019 14:42

Canadian outfit Arcane Ghosts show us that pop-punk is very far from dead with their latest EP 'Human Interference'.

Even though many of the generation-defining bands of the late 90s and early 2000s have started swinging more to the pop side of the pop-punk dichotomy (Fall out Boy, PATD! Etc.) there’s a new generation that seems intent on bringing the genre back into the limelight, or as close as today’s music industry will allow it to get.

Just trawl through the comments section of any eye-liner anthem on YouTube and you’ll find kids gushing about how they were born in the wrong generation – much like I did about the 70s – and Arcane Ghosts have put themselves on the frontline with their nigh-on-perfect combination of post-hardcore and pop-punk.

Timelessness is the word of the day here. Everybody experiences a coming-of-age moment in their lives when emotions are messy and nothing makes sense, and it’s the genre’s self-indulgent tales of broken hearts and confused identities that resonate with the 21st-century teenager/young-adult.

With songs about torturous love (Summertime,) disillusionment (Petrified,) and stagnation (F.M.S and Sushi), Arcane Ghosts prove not only that they understand the genre but that they are more than capable of playing with the big boys. From the jump, you can hear that this project isn’t a casual hobby but something that’s aspiring to be massive. There’s a sense of ease to it that only comes from professionalism, discipline, and dedication that young bands often lack.

Human Interference is proof that not only is pop-punk far from dead but that there are bands coming out of the woodwork who have the know-how and the determination to restore the genre to its former glory.