In 2018, Ben Glover released his brilliant studio album Shorebound. Among the guests appearing on that album were Malojian and Matt McGinn who are also from Northern Ireland. He was also joined by two of his favourite singer songwriters from the other side of the Atlantic: Gretchen Peters and Kim Richey. Those latter artists (along with Matraca Berg) also play a part on his new single Arguing With Ghosts which is taken from his forthcoming EP due for release in the Autumn. Released today, you can watch the lyric video below and read about the creation of the song in Ben Glover’s own words below.
With Richey’s supporting vocals and an intuitive soundscape created by Colm McClean, they have crafted an incredibly emotive single which is also our Song of the Day.
Ben Glover on Arguing With Ghosts
Arguing With Ghosts is the first single from my upcoming EP, Sweet Wild Lily. I wrote the song with Gretchen Peters and Matraca Berg, and Gretchen actually released it on her Dancing With the Beast album a couple of years ago. When the three of us got together to write, we started talking about how the skyline and feel of Nashville have changed so much over recent years, and that conversation sparked the theme of losing a sense of the familiar. The character in the song has experienced personal loss and ruminates about the passing of time, wrangling with the tangible and the intangible.
I wanted the recording to have an intimate feel, so the stripped-back production was very important. I laid the vocals and acoustic guitar down and then had Kim Richey come in and sing. I love Kim’s voice and we performed this song together on tour in the UK in 2018, so it was a must that she was a part of it.
I sent the song over to Colm McClean in Belfast for him to record the electrics and he did an amazing job. Colm and I are first cousins and have been playing music together for about 20 years, so I knew that I could trust him to lay down what was needed from 7,500 miles away from me in Nashville! The sonic landscape he created is intense and beautifully enhances the atmosphere of the song.
Arguing With Ghosts is the lead song from my new EP, which is coming out later in the autumn. Honestly, I hadn’t planned to release any solo material this year, but back in June, Dylan Aldredge (engineer and owner of Skinny Elephant Studio) and I started working on some songs that I had recorded in a session in August 2019. These songs feel like a family, both thematically and sonically, so creatively I felt drawn to releasing them. The title track and second single will be Sweet Wild Lily and the EP also includes Broke Down and Fireflies Dancing.
It’s been important for me to stay creative during this very strange and challenging year. I’m grateful that working in the studio on new material has given me something to focus on instead of Netflix!
Listen to Arguing with Ghosts
Released digitally on Proper Records on 8th September 2020
Stream the single: https://smarturl.it/arguingwithghosts
Photo Credit: Neilson Hubbard