Greetings dearest gentle readers and music lovers let’s welcome English artist Lewis Mckale. This artist is a one-man band. He is the main vocalist and guitarist, and he also plays the Ukulele, banjo, harmonica, and mandolin. On the first of November, he released a nine-song album called “Ghost at the Feast”. The nine-track album “Ghost At The Feast” explores identity formation and the afterlife. Let’s talk more about this album

The first song on the album is “Beware of the Dark”. The song opens with a soft and tender guitar melody that will sway you. The song encourages listeners to conquer their fears but not throw caution to the wind (”running from what we fear but beware of the dark”). Mckale gives a splendid performance with his warm voice and mixed in with the tender instrumentation what you get is a song that you fall in love with instantly. The song ends with a beautiful falsetto note followed by these ethereal mouth percussionists and This song was the best choice to open the album

Next is the song “Point of No Return”. The song opens with some banjo sounds with a mystical vibe. At its core, Point Of No Return addresses the fear of what other people think about you(”there’s no other way to turn”). The character makes it known that he will never change the way he is because of what other people think about him. The storytelling of the song is very beautiful and the overlapping of the voices was so tastefully done that this song will thrill you and encourage you to always stay true to yourself no matter what, a sentiment we thank Lewis for sharing

”Happy as a Skeleton” is the next song on the album. The banjo sounds at the beginning of this is so upbeat. The explores how writing and listening to depressing music provides Lewis with solace. (”I like singing”). The song lets listeners learn something about Lewis and relate to him especially if music brings you solace too. This song creates a bond between listeners and Lewis and then we fall in love with him even more

Next up is the song “Bad Bunny”. The song starts with an electrifying intro. The song is about a character who has noticed that someone he thought he knew was not what he thought she was (”figured it out that you’re something that you’re not”). The beat is thumping and you will be excited by this song and put it on repeat

“Friend of a friend of a friend of a friend” is the next song on the album. The song is country-infused and you can tell immediately it starts. The song is about a character who feels like in another life, he was another character’s lover because, in this life, they are just acquaintances (”in a previous life I was there by your side”). There is an electric guitar solo mid-song before the second verse starts and towards the end of the song. The song will thrill listeners due to its charming allure

Next up is “Day in, day out”. This song sounds oozes country rock which will get you interested in the song. The song talks about how humans toil day and night to be able to make money to afford our basic human needs(” trying to make ends meet, day and night”). The song also talks about how Lewis feels as a creative artist and how he doesn’t feel like he’s seen as opposed to other careers. The song is an eye-opener for people to know that we artists and creatives work twice as hard to be seen and respected and this is a quality that this song possesses

“I Taste Blood” is the next song on the album. The song opens with different instruments. The song embraces a spooky vibe and the bass guitar. The song talks about a creature who lurks in the dark. This creature seems to love blood. But it’s easy to deduce that he’s talking about vampires because we know of these creatures because of popular movies, books, and series there are about this creatures, nonetheless, it was a creepy song fit for Halloween and horror houses

Next is the song” The Lighthouse”. The song has heavy country influences and you can feel that right at the beginning of the song “The Lighthouse” explores the afterlife and how we can determine its existence (“Is there a lighthouse to guide me back to you”). There are these thrilling falsetto sounds and a mandolin solo that you will enjoy thoroughly despite the song’s bleak story

The last is “When the music stops”. The song opens with beautiful ukulele sounds that you will really enjoy. The song “When The Music Stops” explores my perspective on life and whether or not there is an afterlife. When we die, where do we go? (“Is there no heaven?”). The harmonizing and mouth percussions at the end of the song and then there is a silence before we get a stripped-down performance by Lewis about not being seen and feeling like a ghost till he meets someone who can see him(“Only you see me”) and this song ends the album

Lewis wanted to come out of his comfort zone and try something he hadn’t written before. Many of the songs on this album deal with the idea of feeling like a ghost in today’s society. Being an artist, there are challenges with seeking recognition and longing to be liked. But the album’s name, Ghost At The Feast is also a double entendre, as explained in the song, “Happy As A Skeleton”, he is the lifeless soul of the party

Stream the “Ghost at the Feast” album on Spotify

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