Pastel Ghost expertly crafts a desolate, dream-like soundscape on ‘Abyss’.

Pastel Ghost is the musical project of Brooklyn-native, ATX-based musician Vivian Moon.

Though released in 2015, Abyss has seen a revival during the early ‘20s through TikTok. From soundtracking After Effects edits of films such as The Batman (2022), the Twilight Saga, and Fight Club (1999), to ‘looksmaxxing’ trends in 2023, this album has taken on interesting lives years since its initial release. ‘Dark Beach’ is a prime example. Sitting at 277 million streams, the track has had sped up and slowed, reverb versions proliferating the app since 2019. 

That is how I myself found Pastel Ghost. For the most part, I passively engaged with her work. I never fully delved into this LP, instead casually spinning the aforementioned ‘Dark Beach’ and viral hit ‘Embrace’. 

All of this changed 2 weeks ago. To be honest, I don’t recall what brought me back to this record. But I am eternally grateful.

It was late, a little past midnight, when I first embarked through this album. Initially, I appreciated the atmosphere of it. It was moody and grim, yet groovy and contagiously melodic. Pastel Ghost is singular in the genre she calls “dreamrave”. There is no one doing it like her. (Insert info on her blog about the genre she created)

The remarkable thing about Pastel Ghost is how raw her music is. It’s heavy at times, light at others. It’s fluid. It moves. It doesn’t stay in place. This album is so rich in sound, melody, and production.

‘Pulse’ introduces the album with a daunting tone. These dark, buzzing synths kick in immediately, soon followed by a heartbeat-like drum. Then, Moon’s hazy vocals begin detailing the hurt she feels from a betrayal. It’s as if she is facing the liar in these very moments. ‘Lies reflecting in your eyes’ echo this in the chorus. On my first listen, this was my favorite song. I appreciated the song structure and bridges she used. It’s subtle and smooth, but does so much for the overall tone of the song.

The trance of this album truly begins on ‘Embrace’. Here, Moon discusses longing for an unknown touch. This album truly is not one of a lot of lyrics. But there are some. On some tracks, they can be harder to hear. But this wasn’t the case here. ‘Faceless like a shadow//Sense you when I’m alone//Embrace me//Tenderly’ stuck out to me from this song. There is a level of yearning that Moon captures on this song I really enjoyed. 

The dreamscape of this album is really held up by Moon’s vocals. This rang true the most on ‘Clouds’. I could barely hear what she said at this part. But I loved it. Her vocal style is most successful on this song. The drums take on a smooth form that gives the track a formal, consistent rhythm. The track reminds me of the nightclub scenes from Matt Reeves’ The Batman. The drony, dragged out synths, though, make up the emotional core of this song. It feels sad. Viscerally sad. When I searched the lyrics up on Genius, this was compounded. Moon vividly depicts heartbreak on this track. ‘Rain dripping in my wounds//You don’t want me the way I want you’ sounds as if Moon is lying in the street on a rainy day bleeding or something. It’s guttural. 

Tracks like ‘Lilacs’ and ‘Shadows’ ring most reminiscent of electronic music group Crystal Castles. While not individual in the slightest, the 8-bit, retro video-game sound native to the 2 acts shines through these songs the most. The glitchy synths used remind me of Crystal Castles’ ‘Alice Practice’ and ‘Untrust Us’. Another thing that struck me similar to Crystal Castles is how Pastel Ghost intentionally manipulates classic synthpop formulas. Whether it be vocals or drum patterns, both of these pop acts distort or manipulate classic aspects of their respective pop genres for their own purposes. For example, Alice Glass, former lead vocalist of Crystal Castles, often took a raw, brash approach to her vocals. Sometimes they’d be distorted, other times they’d be pitched up. And it didn’t always have to have some sort of thematic purpose. But it worked. Conversely, Moon’s vocals are almost smeared inside of the synths and cloaked by the bass of each track. 

‘Shadows’ feels the most like a video game. But it wasn’t the production that did it. It was the Japanese poem that echoed over the bridge. Translated, it reads, “good evening, it’s true that i really don’t like you, your words and your face hurt me, but i’m only a servant. my heart goes out to that one person, save me, understand my heart only for me, the most important person.” The haze that the poem was shrouded in reminded me of Silent Hill 2. The song itself: Crystal Castles’ ‘Sad Eyes’.

My number 1 favorite song on this album is ‘Skeleton’. At first, I was repulsed by the track. I found it lazy. The overwhelming bass that pilots the song was just too much at first. But after a couple listens, I grew to appreciate it. It’s as if the bass kind of has you at its whim. It’s in control. The bass kind of takes over you, and it has you, and it’s not letting you go. In order to not completely destroy you, there is a drum that is somewhat sporadically kicking. Trying it’s best to break through the noise and protect you. It has a great atmosphere. I really enjoyed the hi-hats on that song. They feel ahead of their time in a way. The only other time I can recall hearing a continuous hi-hat pattern like that used is on ‘Lose It’ by Ken Carson.

I did not like the 2 closing tracks that much. ‘Pulse’ was a 180 compared to the sound that was used throughout the album, so it caught me off guard. It is a much stronger dance record than anything, just felt a bit out of place and random. It has a way of snapping you back to reality. ‘Abyss’ was a nice closer. It ties together the themes of yearning and heartache really well. Sonically, it references a lot of the similar instruments used throughout the album.

Overall, ‘Abyss’ is an excellent listening experience. It’s the kind of music that you want to dance to but also want to cry to. The distortion didn’t feel oversaturated or overused at all. It’s tastefully applied here. I never got bored either. The music has a way of keeping you hooked. Moon creates such an emotional, ethereal tone on these tracks that hits you the moment you press play. I’ve never seen anything like it. This album was one of a kind. 

This record was released through 80s Ladies Records. In 2018, Moon released her follow-up album titled ‘Ethereality’. In a pinned tweet on X/Twitter, she says she is currently working on her 3rd album. Abyss turns 10 on March 10th.