“Cemetery School” and “Outcast Club” have built a detailed beginning and middle for a trilogy the band have named “The Graveyard Chronicles”. This trilogy comes to a dramatic end with their final chapter “Ghost Town”. Featuring more vocal textures than ever before, and some their most ambitious riffs and leads, the EP is the band’s biggest and most theatrical yet.
The EP begins with the title track and second single “Ghost Town”, a dark, dynamic and ever-twisting narrative that would not be far out of place on a Tim Burton movie soundtrack. Loaded with menacing riffs and sinister melodies, the listener is guided through a town filled with horrors and demons from all walks of life…or perhaps more “afterlife”.
The EP’s lead single “Cirque de Cauchemars”, delivers all the nightmare-ish antics that it promises. The signature, spooky Vampire Money swing-rock is in full force here, with a vivid horn section emphasising the big-band riff that bookends the song. “Make no mistake, I’m a nightmare” Alfie sings in the chorus as he encourages the surrounding night terrors.
“Riddles in the Dark” follows, where Tom stalks his verses before unleashing the explosive chorus with malevolent intent. The listener can’t help but imagine the moonlit sky and contorted shadows that engulf this track as they are condemned to a grisly demise in a chaotic outro of bouncing rhythm and screaming lead guitar.
Bringing the hectic energy to a brief halt, “Beneath the Scars'' offers a soft and vulnerable respite. Lightly picked guitar strings call out into the darkness as Tom and Alfie mirror their vocals in partly-contrasting perspectives. Tom, coming to terms with ensnaring himself in a mental prison with Alfie joining him with a reply confirming their circumstances are much worse than they initially seemed.
“Believe Me Honey, I’m a Natural” picks up the tempo in a cunning cabaret. It tells the tale of a woman in search of revenge on the evil bigots of the city that have done her wrong. Taking place in a smoky ballroom, Alfie assumes the role of a demonic trickster who is unseen by those in attendance. He bounces through the song, convincing the woman to make use of his gruesome experience and details plans for her vengeance, like a much darker “Drop Dead Fred”.
The EP closes with “Creeper”, a nocturnal train of thought. Tom’s eerie introduction seems to bleed into the bedroom where Alfie begs night terror spirits and sleep-paralysis demons to let him sleep. “Shh” was the first lyric of “Doctor Afterlife”, opener for the “Cemetery School” EP, so with a fitting return as the final lyric of the third EP, the song reaches a jagged crescendo in the breakdown to deliver it’s cliffhanger end.