By Storm

In 2023, RiTchie and producer Parker Corey introduced By Storm with “Double Trio,” an impassioned and atmospheric first single that both honored the legacy of their former group Injury Reserve and opened a new lane towards the future. “Shit gon' repeat if all you do is delay” RiTchie rapped on the track, underlining the momentum constantly pushing the rapper/producer duo forward. My Ghosts Go Ghost continues that trajectory, arriving almost by surprise but with maximum impact.

My Ghosts Go Ghost is an album that is simple in its construction yet dense enough to get lost in. Created with a back-to-basics mantra (“what if we make nine really strong songs and put them in a good order?”) the album deals with themes of loss, fatherhood, capitalism, the weight of experience, and moving past difficult experiences. It is both a debut album and the continuation of a journey RiTchie and Corey started ten years ago when they first began making music in Phoenix. “This past decade we built our identity and every record has been us figuring out more about the kind of band we want to be,” says RiTchie. “That doesn't change.” With My Ghosts Go Ghost, committed fans get to hear RiTchie and Corey hone their craft in increasingly refined ways, while newcomers benefit from the experience and clarity of thought that brings them to this point.

Mention ghosts and many will think of hauntings but My Ghosts Go Ghost is not an album troubled by history. If anything the art of looking ahead colors RiTchie’s lyrics, specifically how to do so while holding what is dear from the past. That could be not forgetting people you have lost, or selfishly wanting to stick with what’s familiar in the face of change. “CIHYFM” finds him on the eve of becoming a father, excited for what lay ahead but knowing that his relationship with his partner will also be changing in the process. “I’m ready to grow, just feeling TKTKTKT” he raps over a somber beat replete with chopped up vocal samples. Album closer "GGG” maintains that same perspective, asking questions about the speediness of moving on from a seismic loss. Intricate Spanish guitars act as the bed for RiTchie to wrestle with the notion of shedding the past only to realise how important it was to you. The desire to look forwards, it seems, only leads to looking back. Ultimately, My Ghosts Go Ghost, underscores the belief that life in the present is most precious of all.

An off the cuff DJ set in Stockholm, Sweden in 2019, improvised when technical issues meant performing live was impossible, acted as the blueprint to unlocking the sound of the album. Debuting new material in that environment was both fun and freeing for the pair, who tested multiple My Ghosts Go Ghost tracks in various embryonic stages at shows in Phoenix, London, L.A., and New York throughout 2025. The automatic feedback of live audiences was both a prompt when writing and a guide in the editing process. “There's an element of being able to figure out certain songs better live and come up with ideas when you're in that super emotional and reactive phase,” says Corey. “You do a lot less overthinking in that environment.”

Album tracks including “Dead Weight” plus “And I Dance” are among the songs aided by this approach, as was “In My Town” which finds RiTchie juxtaposing life on tour with the financial realities of any musician that falls outside the superstar bracket. Jobs ferrying food for takeout apps and later travelling to By Storm shows are presented side by side, with Ritchie writing his lyrics between deliveries. Gas, in the real and metaphysical senses, is running low at all times and, with a pregnant partner at home, life is getting real.

It’s a song that condenses themes of creative endeavor, financial hardship, ego, pragmatism, ambition, and new life into a linear, human story. It’s the kind of song that By Storm could only have arrived at this juncture of life, with the duo prizing clarity and control above everything else. “This record is really confident,” explains Corey. “We’re not trying to impress anybody or flexing our muscles to show what we can do. There’s no gimmicks, it’s just simple concepts fleshed out.”

It all adds to the belief that By Storm, with their experimental approach and eclectic sound, are one of rap’s great outliers. It’s not a term RiTchie and Corey entirely embrace (being part of the crowd is often more lucrative after all) but it’s fitting nonetheless. At some point you kind of realise that we're really out here on our own, which isn't a bad thing,” says RiTchie. “Scenes tend to rise and then all die together.” Corey takes a longer but similarly optimistic view. “Hopefully some kid on whatever internet archive exists in the future will discover our music in twenty years and we will be a whole scene by ourselves.” What better legacy could there be for a group chronicling the myriad ways in which the past continues to color the present?

[David Renshaw]