Kim Ray
Ghost
Canadian artist Kim Ray has been releasing music since his 2016 debut album, “When You Smile.” When you dive through his socials, you’ll begin to understand why he’s been able to gain considerable traction in the past 7 years. He’s bilingual, splits his time between Quebec and the States, and has taken the time to find his voice. We’ve been fortunate enough to be around many artists who write and perform in their second (or third) language, and the perspective they bring is always unique - they can get to the heart of the matter more quickly, and will choose words that native speakers often overlook. Such is the case with Kim and the song, “Ghost.” Here’s our review.
It’s a simple start with acoustic on the left, electric on the right, with honest and direct lyrics that come right up the middle, showing you the vulnerability in Kim’s voice. 16 bars in and it’s obvious this is going to be a gut wrencher. One of the ways we can tell - and one of our favorite tricks in lyrics - is when the first few stanzas don’t rhyme. This is not quite an iambic pentameter setting, but it’s pretty close. Rhythmically it all fits perfectly as he tells his story of struggle.
With the chorus, the passion continues as he joined on the vocals by Baker taking the harmony. She continues the vision in the second verse, telling her side of the compelling tale and we realize we could be dealing with a tale of two lovers. Again, there’s very little rhyming here but it all works well and helps to highlight the angst and desperation of the moment. Another great trick they use is to stretch out the pre-chorus with a two beat phrase before the second chorus hits - love it when we’re surprised like that! Second and third chorus become familiar very quickly - it’s not hard to envision this being played out in larger venues or on TV. There’s a great opportunity for some sync work with a track and tale like this one.
From a production standpoint it’s solid and we love the fact that it’s all real instruments. Tones are spot on - particularly the electric tone in the solo - and the note choices demonstrate careful consideration throughout. This is one of those tracks that could have been ruined by a bunch of standard riffs and fills that they wisely chose to NOT employ, letting the lyrics and vocals stand for the themselves. Vocally, both Kim and Manon do a great job of expressing the ache and passion portrayed in the lyrics. This is about as honest as you can get.
Make sure you scroll down and catch his other tracks! Our favorites include “Life is a Rodeo” with it’s killer B3 tones and great mix and split of guitars in the speakers, “To the Moon and Back” with it’s desolate feel, unique instrumentation and minimalist approach, and “Like the Sun,” an uplifting track from his debut record that gives you a glimpse into his roots. Spend some time with his music and you won’t be disappointed, we look forward to what he’ll be doing next!