Swiss band Leave The Ghosts Behind, a postmodern hardcore and pop-punk cocktail, released two singles this year. Remnants is their newest, bringing angsty lyrics of toxicity in a relationship. The sound is akin to Being As An Ocean minus the gutteral screams, and the melodic gripes of Billy Talent.
The music is not a rehashing of old sounds; Leave The Ghosts Behind brings a distinctly modern feel, with cutting-edge production into their biting midge. Diamond skin explores an obsessive kind of love, and With You In The Dark is heavy, harsh instrumentation over a song about pure jealousy.
Your current lineup played together under the name “Apartment 99” for around a year, right? What made you want to completely revamp and give it all a new name?
Will: There were two main reasons. The first was that over the years, the band members changed, so in the end, only Finn and I were left from the original lineup. The others couldn’t really identify with the name anymore. The second and somewhat more important reason is that we have evolved musically. We released our first EP very early in the band’s history because we had no other way to get our music out to people since COVID had just started and the world had come to a standstill. The development that most bands go through before finding their genre and then releasing their first songs happened to us over the course of our releases, which is why our songs with Apartment 99 are relatively diverse. Now, we’ve reached a point where we can say we’ve found ourselves and the right genre. Therefore, it was the right time for a fresh start.
You guys are totally independent; you make the visual art, you mix the music and release it, etc. How hard is it to stay on a forward moving schedule and keep going.. and what are the benefits of such a workload?
Will: For all of us, music is a very important part of our lives. Like many other people, it has often helped us through difficult life situations. This is also our main motivation for making music. We want to connect with our listeners and possibly help them through tough times as well. To do this, we need to release songs regularly. This is our driving force to keep going and not slow down. Since we do everything ourselves, we have the opportunity to record as much and as often as we want. Thanks to this, we will be dropping a new song every month until the end of the year.
Do you have plans to incorporate those singles you’re dropping this year into a full album?
Finn: Yes and no. We will divide the songs we release this year into “concept EPs,” where the songs share the same central theme. The first three songs deal with the theme of failed love and the associated pain. The next three songs, which will be released between June and August, address working in a toxic work environment. The last five songs will cover the themes of mental health and depression. We are still considering compiling all the songs released this year into an album at the end of the year, without adding any new songs.
Has there been any particular inspiration behind your recent trilogy of singles?
Finn: The lyrics for these three songs came from a deep place within me. I didn’t realize it at first, but these feelings and emotions had been waiting to come out for some time. When they finally did, they turned into songs that are both aggressive and melancholic. This process helped me to express and deal with my experiences, turning raw emotions into something tangible. Writing these lyrics allowed me to explore and understand my own feelings better, resulting in music that feels both personal and genuine. Each song captures a different aspect of what I was going through, making the music not only a form of expression but also a journey of self-discovery.
Leave The Ghosts Behind has crafted a singular post-hardcore sound that’s an emotional cyclone – one moment drowns itself in wailing anguish, the next plans a mosh pit revenge party.
The Swiss group is William Schnydrig on Lead vocals and guitar, Julian Tscharner on bass, Finn Graber on guitar/vocals, and Kimmo Nacht on drums. Remnants was released on May 14th of this year.
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