GOOD BISON Can’t Quit The Ghost On New Single “Can’t Waste This High”.
“After being driven off the road by the ghost, running through the dark desert and stumbling upon a convenience store in the middle of nowhere, our protagonist finds a secluded beach with a fire already burning. Although he knows the ghost cannot be far behind, he simply canât resist the call of the flames and the pounding of the bass. Dancing, drinking, and blinded by lights, he fails to notice the eerie orange glow creeping into the edges of the scene.”
So sets the scene for indie-rocker GOOD BISONâs grand return with his synth-soaked brand new track âCanât Waste This High.â Itâs the first single off of his upcoming EP Ghost on Mulholland which is set for release independently on February 21, 2023. Following the storyline on a self-penned short story, the song (and the EP as a whole) is an R.L. Stine / Goosebumps-inspired narrative of the protagonistâs flight from a ghost who has followed him all his life.
Featuring a mixture of live instrumentation and electronic elements, âCanât Waste This Highâ was written and recorded in Miami by Good Bison brainchild Pablo Alvarez and Abraham Mendez (Abes), with George Spits handling additional production, mixing and mastering, and Agustin Mas on lead guitar. The repetitive and simple lyrics are a desperate attempt to escape the powerful ghostâs looming presence  via immersion in utter bliss, even when itâs fleeting.
âAbes and I wrote âCanât Waste This High,â along with the rest of the EP, over Thanksgiving break in Miami last year. This song was built entirely around the bass riff, and has probably the least amount of lyrics of any Good Bison song ever,â says Alvarez. It was originally meant to be an interlude, but once we brought George Spits into the mix we decided it needed to be more. I always knew I didnât want to write a verse for the song because everything that needed to be said was already being communicated by the music.â
On Ghost on Mulholland, Good Bison takes his sun-soaked indie rock into more serious, sometimes slower directions to match the ghost story at play. However, he still maintains the signature combo of Beck’s Odelay, Weezer’s The Blue Album, and his unique, fast paced hip-hop delivery thatâs previously brought him acclaim.
The EP kicks off with “10 Mins Away,” a meditation on the  pains of dealing with insecurities and battling through them,  tempered by guitar solos and hooks to bring levity and excitement. “Better Lies” deals with the anguish of denying one’s internal pain (“These arguments inside my head they could be televised. No worries, I’m all good, my smile is one of my better lies”). The latin influenced “Hauntingâ oozes abandon with eerie gusts of wind, sparse guitar, and sudden, disquieting synth swells that situate the listener directly in the protagonistâs shoes. This is punctuated by a latin jam breakdown, featuring Pablo singing in Spanish for the first time on the EP, truly embracing his Colombian heritage. The final, contemplative track âIâm Tired of Waiting Come On Homeâ reflects the protagonist’s exhaustion, while also exuding a sense of comfort.  Here, the haunting seemingly  ends, allowing  space for reflection with a relaxing guitar riff.
GOOD BISON
Ghost on Mulholland
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10 Mins Away
Better Lies
Haunting
I’m Tired Of Waiting, Come On HomeÂ
âAbes and I have been working on music together since before Good Bison, and he also produced âWavy,â âWhyâd Ya Leave,â and âNowhere To Go.â After releasing Scattered Storms in 2021, the two of us began planning an EP, but we decided to hold off until we could be in the studio together,â says Alvarez. âMost of our collaborations until now had been long distance, and we wanted to capture the magic we feel when weâre jamming together in the same room. Towards the end of last year, I planned a trip to Miami, and basically lived at Abesâ house for seven days while we wrote these songs. Early on, the image of a ghost on the beach attached itself to the music in my mind and refused to let go. I already knew the record was meant to be a journey, so I started writing a ghost story that mirrored the EP track by track. Once I had the plot mapped out, I worked with Estefania Krol (the director of KRĂLHAUS) to bring the ghost to life.”
âPeople have a tendency to be extremely hard on themselves, myself included. We criticize, judge, and attack ourselves without reservation. We celebrate the success of others and ignore our own wins,â Alvarez concludes about the  themes in his new music. â[We] chastise our shortcomings and belittle our hardships. And I donât think thatâs okay, so Iâve been trying to be nicer while still holding myself accountable. There is no right path. Trust yourself. Youâre doing great, even when youâre forced off the road by a ghost only you can see.â