The first time I listened to Nordstahl's Das Geisterschiff I was drawn into its surging depths like a fog-bound sea. Being someone who is always attracted to evocative songs, this composition reminds me of a personal journey in dark waters, the combination of the sea folklore and emotional sincerity. The German vocal performance is so urgent and heavy and its wordy tone is like piercing clarity, so every sentence feels painfully deprived and confined of its unmentioned opportunities.
The melody flows with masterly incorporating which starts off sparsely and then swells up in orchestral rallies befitting the song spookiness. This ebb and flow is part of what made me unable to stop listening to it, because, with each flow, another sense of destined futility is painted into the picture. The instrumentation forms layers of immersion as well-cellos and distant bells form a phantasmagoric environment of the ship, which sounds heavy but also airy like through infinite mists. In a thematic sense it is a very deep allegory of the way our decisions and actions in the past chase us right up until it is too late to do anything, making the ghost ship a ship of deep regrets and remorse.
The most interesting sounding is that of how Nordstahl is managing to bring the ancient legend into something thoroughly contemporary, broaching the subject of existentialism and its apprehension and avoidance of issues without solutions. A world driven by the need to solve problems within a short period of time, this song provides us an outlet to accept the culmination of our errors by addressing it to its own melancholy glory. It is not linear, or atmospheric, it is visceral and it leaves me contemplative, a little reeling. As though I see my own unexorcised baggage floating in the ocean.
Gothic folk or philosophical ballad fanatics can get an irresistible gem in the form of Das Geisterschiff. Nordstahl has created a timeless piece showing that music can be refulgent and stormy both. Great to use on a day when you want to get in a big way.
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