Ghost Notes

Following the band's 1997 release Eight Arms to Hold You, drummer Jim Shapiro quit. Shortly after, in 1998, Nina Gordon and bassist Steve Lack also left, leaving Louise Post to release two new Veruca Salt albums with other musicians, Resolver in 2000, and IV in 2006. Gordon told The Los Angeles Times that after seeing the reception from Mazzy Star's 2012 reunion she got the desire to make music with Post again. The two met up for the first time in 14 years and began writing music that would become Ghost Notes.

For Ghost Notes, the four original band members collaborated more on songwriting than they had before. The lyrics focused on their shared experiences, with Gordon saying, "I think a lot of the content in the new songs is about our feelings surrounding the breakup, regrets about the breakup, the thrill of getting back together. It's really not so much about our individual lives the way it used to be."Caro, Mark. [https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/music/ct-veruca-salt-interview-20140703-column.html "Veruca Salt reunites years after explosive breakup"]. chicagotribune.com. July 3, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2020.

Ghost Notes was released on July 10, 2015. It was produced by Brad Wood, who also produced Veruca Salt's debut American Thighs. Two of the songs had previously been released. "The Museum of Broken Relationships" was on the band's 2014 Record Store Day release MMXIV,{{cite web|last=Zoladz|first=Lindsay|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/54380-veruca-salt-reunite-original-lineup-releasing-first-new-music-in-14-years/|title=Veruca Salt Reunite, Original Lineup Releasing First New Music in 14 Years|publisher=Pitchfork Media|date=March 17, 2014|accessdate=July 12, 2015}} and "Black and Blonde" is a new recording (with a new chorus and revised lyrics) of a song originally recorded by Gordon for her first solo album, Tonight and the Rest of My Life (2000).{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-veruca-salt-20150713-story.html|title=Veruca Salt reunites to tell story of breakup, recovery in 'Ghost Notes'|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=July 10, 2015|first=Brendan|last=Hornbostel|accessdate=July 12, 2015}}

The double-LP vinyl edition released by El Camino in January 2016 features a revised track listing with three additional selections.{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Veruca-Salt-Ghost-Notes/release/8018548|title= Veruca Salt – Ghost Notes |publisher=Discogs|accessdate=January 16, 2017}}

{{Music ratings

| MC = 78/100{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/ghost-notes/veruca-salt|title=Reviews for Ghost Notes by Veruca Salt|work=Metacritic|publisher=CBS Interactive|accessdate=December 30, 2015}}

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/ghost-notes-mw0002847674|title=Ghost Notes – Veruca Salt : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards|last=Phares|first=Heather|publisher=Rovi Corporation|work=AllMusic|accessdate=July 12, 2015}}

| rev2 = The A.V. Club

| rev2score = B+{{cite web|last=McCown|first=Alex|title=Veruca Salt is back, turning old wounds into new catharsis|url=http://www.avclub.com/review/veruca-salt-back-turning-old-wounds-new-catharsis-221977|work=The A.V. Club|date=July 10, 2015|accessdate=July 10, 2015}}

| rev3 = Consequence of Sound

| rev3score = B{{cite magazine|last=Corcoran|first=Nina|title=Veruca Salt – Ghost Notes – Review|date=July 2, 2015|magazine=Consequence of Sound|url=https://consequence.net/2015/07/album-review-veruca-salt-ghost-notes/|accessdate=July 3, 2015}}

| rev4 = Now Magazine

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://nowtoronto.com/music/album-reviews/veruca-salt/|title=Veruca Salt – Ghost Notes Review|publisher=Now Communications|work=Now Magazine|first=Matt|last=Williams|date=July 8, 2015|accessdate=July 8, 2015}}

| rev5 = Paste

| rev5score = 9.1/10{{cite magazine|url=http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/07/veruca-salt-ghost-notes.html|title=Veruca Salt: Ghost Notes Review|magazine=Paste|first=Holly|last=Gleason|date=July 7, 2015|accessdate=July 7, 2015}}

| rev6 = Spin

| rev6score = 7/10{{cite web|last=Joyce|first=Colin|url=http://www.spin.com/2015/07/review-veruca-salt-ghost-notes/|title=Review: Veruca Salt Erupt Anew on 'Ghost Notes'|work=Spin|publisher=Buzzmedia|date=July 9, 2015|accessdate=July 9, 2015}}

| rev7 = Under the Radar

| rev7score = 7/10{{cite web|last=Moores|first=JR|url=http://www.undertheradarmag.com/reviews/veruca_salt_ghost_notes/|title=Veruca Salt – Ghost Notes|work=Under the Radar|date=July 10, 2015|accessdate=July 11, 2015}}

| rev8 = Pitchfork

| rev8score = 7.0/10{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/20786-ghost-notes/|title=Veruca Salt Ghost Notes|website=Pitchfork|first=Estelle|last=Tang|date=July 13, 2015|accessdate=July 13, 2015}}

}}

Ghost Notes received mostly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 78 out of 100, which indicates "generally favorable reviews", based on 12 reviews.

Writing for Consequence of Sound and rating the album a "B", Nina Corcoran said, "Veruca Salt are still writing catchy, raging songs, but the naivety of their intent and its two-decade-old edits are miles away here." Matt Williams of Now Magazine rated the album four stars out of five and stated, "Gordon and Post haven't missed a beat. In fact, they might be better than ever." The A.V. Club's Alex McCown called Ghost Notes "a potent and affecting record, with a deep well of emotional resonance Veruca Salt never really had before."

{{Track listing

| headline = Ghost Notes[https://music.apple.com/us/album/ghost-notes/992287467 iTunes – Music – Ghost Notes by Veruca Salt]

| total_length = 54:48

| all_writing = Veruca Salt

| title1 = The Gospel According to Saint Me

| length1 = 3:49

| title2 = Black and Blonde

| length2 = 4:07

| title3 = Eyes on You

| length3 = 3:17

| title4 = Prince of Wales

| length4 = 5:35

| title5 = The Sound of Leaving

| length5 = 3:32

| title6 = Love You Less

| length6 = 3:09

| title7 = Laughing in the Sugar Bowl

| length7 = 2:16

| title8 = Empty Bottle

| length8 = 5:53

| title9 = Come Clean, Dark Thing

| length9 = 3:22

| title10 = I'm Telling You Now

| length10 = 3:29

| title11 = Triage

| length11 = 3:36

| title12 = Lost to Me

| length12 = 4:10

| title13 = The Museum of Broken Relationships

| length13 = 2:35

| title14 = Alternica

| length14 = 5:58

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 2016 double LP edition

| total_length = 58:46

| title1 = Prelude to Zeus

| length1 = 1:28

| title2 = The Gospel According to Saint Me

| length2 = 3:49

| title3 = Black and Blonde

| length3 = 4:07

| title4 = Eyes on You

| length4 = 3:17

| title5 = Prince of Wales

| length5 = 5:35

| title6 = The Sound of Leaving

| length6 = 3:32

| title7 = Love You Less

| length7 = 3:09

| title8 = Laughing in the Sugar Bowl

| length8 = 2:16

| title9 = Empty Bottle

| length9 = 5:53

| title10 = Come Clean, Dark Thing

| length10 = 3:22

| title11 = I'm Telling You Now

| length11 = 3:29

| title12 = Triage

| length12 = 3:36

| title13 = Lost to Me

| length13 = 4:10

| title14 = Into the Sun

| length14 = 0:34

| title15 = The Museum of Broken Relationships

| length15 = 2:35

| title16 = Alternica

| length16 = 5:58

| title17 = Coda

| length17 = 1:56

}}

Credits adapted from AllMusic.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/ghost-notes-mw0002847674/credits|title=Ghost Notes – Veruca Salt – Credits – AllMusic|work=AllMusic|publisher=Rovi Corporation|accessdate=July 9, 2015}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

• Louise Post – guitar, vocals
• Nina Gordon – guitar, vocals
• Steve Lack – bass guitar
• Jim Shapiro – drums, vocals (backing)

• Kay Hanley – vocals
• Michelle Lewis – vocals
• Christian Lane – vocals (backing)
• Joel Mark – handclapping
• Sophie Mark – handclapping
• Chick Wolverton – percussion

{{col-2}}

• Emily Lazar – mastering
• Ken Sluiter – engineer
• Brad Wood – engineer, mixing, orchestra, production

{{col-end}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• [http://www.verucasalt.com/ Official website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050629025738/http://www.verucasalt.com/ |date=2005-06-29 }}

{{Veruca Salt}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2015 albums

Category:Veruca Salt albums

Category:Albums produced by Brad Wood

Category:El Camino Media albums