7/10

There's something instantly compelling about an album that feels as though it has created its own mythology, and on 'Ghost We Keep', Hoxsey does exactly that. The Austin-based artist takes gothic rock, indie, punk and experimental sounds and twists them into a wonderfully strange eleven-track world filled with forgotten characters, deserted roads and lingering memories.

But instead of simply leaning into its Halloween imagery for effect, 'Ghost We Keep' feels like a much broader exploration of the things that stay with us long after they should have disappeared. There are ghosts here, certainly, but they're just as likely to be emotional as supernatural. Old places, past mistakes, lost relationships and fractured identities all seem to drift through the album, giving its theatrical exterior a much more personal heart.

That world-building is at its strongest on tracks such as ‘The Introduction of Sgt. Capone’, ‘A Ride With the Four Horse Men in 1888’ and ‘Corpses Ball Room’. Each feels like another chapter in some half-remembered travelling carnival, with Hoxsey creating a sense of mystery that makes the record feel far larger than the sum of its individual songs. ‘Skeleton Key’, ‘Charm Cider’ and ‘Pixelated Whorror’ push that unpredictability even further, allowing the album’s stranger and more experimental instincts to fully come alive.

Musically, Hoxsey is equally restless. Punk-fuelled energy, hazy alt-rock and darker gothic textures continually collide, giving the album an unpredictable momentum that keeps it moving forward without ever feeling restricted by genre.

With this new collection, Hoxsey has created something wonderfully distinctive. Dark, imaginative and packed with personality, it's an album that turns nostalgia, fear and memory into a vivid alternative universe of its own. For an artist so willing to embrace the unusual, this feels like a hugely confident and exciting statement.