Daniel Davies comes from rock and roll royalty, given that his dad is The Kinks’ Dave Davies and his uncle is Ray Davies. He spent a good portion of his formative years touring the world with his dad before his family settled in Los Angeles. From there Davies spent time with his Godfather, the Master of Horror himself John Carpenter, even living with Carpenter for a time during high school(Dave Davies scored Carpenter’s remake of Children of the Damned.)
Davies started playing guitar and in his 20s and 30s spent time in bands like Year Long Disaster, Karma To Burn, and CKY before starting a very fruitful collaboration and partnership with John Carpenter, as well as Carpenter’s son Cody in 2014. They released several albums under the name Lost Themes, as well as reimagining classic John Carpenter film themes. Besides original works the trio scored David Gordon Green’s Halloween films as well as the newest adaptation of Firestarter.
While working with Carpenter, Daniel Davies released a series of solo instrumental records, as well as scoring a documentary. But with his latest solo album, Ghost of the Heart, Davies has put the synthesizers in the background and has returned to the rock forum. Touching on everything from 90s alternative to Led Zeppelin to Gothic rock, Davies shows off his songwriting and vocal skills to great effect.
Ghost of the Heart opens on the tension-filled rocker “I Know Why”, complete with John Bonham-like drums and octave-effected guitar. Davies’ vocals are sharp, melodic, and are reminiscent of Robert Plant’s more mellowed vocal delivery from his 80s run. “Presence on the Hill” opens with ambient synth touches and clean guitar tones. Daniel Davies sonic touchstones are based in blues, but with almost Middle Eastern touches. Led Zeppelin were great at that dichotomy, and Davies is as well. The big riff that follows brings Physical Graffiti vibes to the forefront.
Folks that only know Daniel Davies from his synth/electronic work with Carpenter will be surprised in a very good way. “It Takes A lot” has an 80s feel, bringing to mind Wang Chung and The Cure, while title track “Ghost of the Heart” has a galloping rhythm and urgent guitars. “Big Crush” wavers in electronic tones and an ethereal mood. While album closer “Those Eyes” ends the album on a dreamy mood, reminiscent of This Mortal Coil.
Daniel Davies has made a great rock album that brings together all of his different sonic touchstones. We don’t get albums like Ghost of the Heart that much these days. I hope we at least get another from Daniel Davies.
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