GHOSTWOUND is a foursome of musical vagabonds from Milan, Italy. Reading their bios is like reading character descriptions from a Jack Kerouac novel. As you might imagine, their style is a 70’s Psych Rock with a heavy dose of Funk. On December 16, 2024 they released their self-titled debut via Go Do Records. It is a psychedelic trip down a wandering road which somehow winds back on itself, in the end depositing you where you left off and enticing you to head out yet again.

“Ghostwound” comprises ten tracks and clocks out at 42 minutes. Make no mistake, this is not a Metal band by any stretch of the imagination, but they do occupy an adjacent space with their Stoner/Psych tendencies. Cover art, by Paolo Proserpio, depicts an upside-down view of a road snaking its way to snow-covered mountains. There is a filter in play that might be fingerprints or just kaleidoscopic ripples. I mention this because it captures the overall vibe of the album—funky, jazzy, psychedelic.

Musically speaking, Michele Ricciardi’s vocals are clean and haunting; Paulo Bramino has a Frippian edge to his guitar work; the rhythm section of Virgil Mermound (drums) and Petrolio (bass) are eclectic and jazz-infused; and Michele’s synth work is at times atmospheric and at others, groovy.  

The album kicks off with “Funky Robot” which for me rates as one of the standout tracks. It captures the band at middle lane—a little bit experimental but also very accessible, which makes it the perfect intro as well as the first video. I also found “Rojava” weirdly compelling. It starts at a slow, meandering pace before building tempo and exploding into some heavy riffage from which they then oscillate back and forth. This track then leads into another standout, “Azimuth,” which features some mid-bending bass excursions from Petrolio. Honorable mentions include “Coffee Grounds Revelations”—which you can just imagine the band writing at the end of a long session, staring down into the residue of cold, stale coffee—and “Smoke.” I mean you can’t be a Psych band and not have a song called “Smoke.”

You get the feeling that Ghostwound isn’t out there trying to make a statement or call attention to themselves. They seem to play for their own pleasure with no distracting agendas to lecture their listeners about except may be to beware intergalactic lovers who are only after “astral domination and lies.”