Paper Citizen - Wandering Ghost EP review

(Image credit: Supplied)

PAPER CITIZEN
Wandering Ghost
INDEPENDENT

On her poignant and prismatic third EP as Paper Citizen, Claire Gohst delivers a riveting slate of bold, punchy alt-rock hooks slathered in overdrive, soaring and impassioned singing that tears through the mix with electrifying aplomb, and even a slither of dreamy, weathered acoustic folk balladry.

Despite running just short of 20 minutes, Gohst unfurls a sprawling musicality on the disc, taking listeners on a soulful and sinuous journey that starts powerfully with the brash and boisterous six-string calisthenics of “Scratching The Surface”, dips into a jammy power-pop lustre with “Lifeline”, then winds into the deeply emotive, heartrending blossom of the filmy “Indigo September” and hypnotic, slow‑burning “Won’t Be Losing Sleep”. We’re dying to see what Gohst can achieve on a full-length album.

Ellie Robinson is an Australian writer, editor and dog enthusiast with a keen ear for pop-rock and a keen tongue for actual Pop Rocks. Her bylines include music rag staples like NME, BLUNT, Mixdown and, of course, Australian Guitar (where she also serves as Editor-at-Large), but also less expected fare like TV Soap and Snowboarding Australia. Her go-to guitar is a Fender Player Tele, which, controversially, she only picked up after she'd joined the team at Australian Guitar. Before then, Ellie was a keyboardist – thankfully, the AG crew helped her see the light…