Recently, Los Angeles-based, genre-blending band, Love Ghost, hit Europe with a headline tour following a release of their most recent EP, ‘Anarchy and Ashes’. Initially a solo-project initiated by the band’s frontman and lead singer, Finnegan Bell, they are now also a culturally blended and full-blown group project that carves out a unique identity and community for those who feel like the outsiders of the world.
Inspired by many artists, ranging from Linkin Park, Deftones and Soundcloud’s emo hip-hop movement, they describe themselves as an “embodiment of the tragic and the beautiful, a modern phantom moving between poetry and darkness. Love Ghost represents the misunderstood, those who carry both inner and outer scars, transforming that pain into something aesthetic, spiritual, and magnetic. At its core, Love Ghost is an immersive experience: an aesthetic cult, a refuge for the broken, a phantom that turns tragedy into beauty.”
Love Ghost’s most recent release, ‘Anarchy and Ashes’, was designed to land amongst European audiences, dedicated to the grandeur and energy of live performance. Once again working with the Swedish musician and producer Tim Skold – known for his collaboration with Marilyn Manson most notably – this time around, Finnegan Bell blended his emo-alt roots with industrial ambiance. And the EP definitely landed well with its target European audience, as Graeme Smith describes on his York Calling blog: “This EP is short, as EP’s tend to be, but it hits the right spots to get you feeling good, and feeling a bit hyped up. This album could have been released at any time between 1990 and 2026 and fit in perfectly with any genre in the rock/industrial realm it wanted to.”
I recently sat down with Finnegan Bell in an interview, just a few days after his return to Los Angeles post-tour. His general impression seemed nonchalant, at times distant even, and yet I was pleasantly surprised by his depth, empathy and willingness for connection. Bringing some humour and equal poignancy into this storytelling, there is no need for me to fill you in on Love Ghost. From their origin story, to Bell’s nomadic lifestyle and extraordinary experiences as a touring artist, here’s what Love Ghost is all about:
RL: Would you like to share a bit of your band’s story – how you came together, what’s the symbolism/story behind the band name?
FB: Of course, the origin story of Love Ghost… So, just some background context about how it all began, I actually started the project when I was really young around 12 or 13 years old. The name Love Ghost and the symbolism behind that name really just comes from a fascination that I had with love and death. That’s what a lot of the lyrics are about and that’s what the universe kind of revolves around, around the afterlife, death and also love. Almost as if there was a romantic horror movie, that’s kind of a world that Love Ghost lives in.
So, I created the project when I was young and I would just play out on the streets of Los Angeles, in coffee shops, just kind of wherever I could actually. I remember the first EP I recorded when I was about 15. I would sell out of a pillowcase in high school, then go to the rival school and do the same. Slowly but surely, I started asking people to join the project and it became less of a solo project, more of a band. At a certain point, I had more people coming in supporting different parts, really just for the sole purpose of live shows at the beginning and then it just grew, and evolved throughout the years.
Around the pandemic, I happened to have a song go semi-viral on YouTube. I noticed that a lot of the comments were in Spanish, “Come to Mexico, we want to see you in Mexico”. Obviously, living in Los Angeles, Mexico is so close and you hear a lot of stories about it, that it’s not safe and this, that and the third. But, I decided one day to pack my car full of all my things that could fit, and I moved down there for a little bit. I was collaborating with musical artists and meeting musicians. Actually, now to this day, half of the Love Ghost members are Mexican nationals. Half of us are American, half are Mexican. I was living in this abandoned elementary school with a bunch of other musicians. It was a super interesting period in my life, where I was writing and recording music everyday.
Eventually, one thing led to the next and now we just finished our first headline Europe tour, we just got back a few days ago and half of us went to Mexico. That’s kind of the origin story of Love Ghost. It was a DIY project discovered on YouTube.
RL: Love Ghost’s page online is also translated to Spanish, and you have some songs in Spanish as well. I think one of them is ‘No Debia’, so would it be fair to say that Latin culture has some impact on your music?
FB: Yep! That’s in Spanish! And I would say so, definitely has a lot of impact. I try to show as much respect and love to the culture as I can. So a few songs are in Spanish, more will be in Spanish. There definitely is a Latin undertone.
RL: Since the release of your debut album, ‘A Place Far from Here’, what’s one thing that has changed the most about Love Ghost?
FB: Absolutely! I think there’s a lot of different genres in Love Ghost and I think that the ethos stays the same. It’s still an emo-elt project with lyrics around mental health. But, the genres you can tell definitely change a lot. That album is very grunge inspired, but also at the time it was very emo-trap inspired as well. This most recent project that we just released, ‘Anarchy and Ashes’, it was very industrial inspired, that came from working with Tim Skold.
I would say that the message stays the same but the way in which that message is delivered to the public definitely changes a lot over time, whether that’s with bending the genres or with changing up the visuals and that identity of Love Ghost. The art definitely changes and goes through metamorphoses.
RL: I read that your previous album from 2025, ‘Gas Mask Wedding’, is a record that took a long time to see the light of day. What was the most challenging aspect of creating that album?
FB: Honestly, just my life got super fractured as I was creating that project. Essentially, there was a period of time that all the members had moved on and were doing separate things and I moved to Mexico, I just felt for a long time like I was nomadic and didn’t have a home base. I didn’t really have much of a support system at that time in my life. Things would get started on my laptop then get lost. Just a lot was going on in my personal life. That’s really what it was, but usually from that pain or that disarray or confusion is where meaningful art can arise. ‘Gas Mask Wedding’ is a collection of love songs but from a dystopian perspective. That was part of the reason I chose that title, it’s finding love in an apocalypse, or having a negative view of love.
Between moving, bands breaking up, coming and going, just all these different things became fractured and that’s where that music was born, and I’m happy that it eventually did see the light of day!
RL: But talking about meaningful art being born out of discomfort during a fractured time of your life, but is there a flip side to this? Maybe a really happy time that is reflected in your discography?
FB: Funnily enough, something that has a more gentle feel, the song ‘Too Young For You’ I’d say was somewhat about a happier period of my life and you can feel it in the song, the overall vibe. As artists, our job is to capture emotion and then display it in hopes that it will make other people feel it. That’s one thing musical artists get scared of, “What if someone doesn’t like it, what if I get negative comments?”. Honestly, I love that stuff, I live for that, because as long as there’s an emotional reaction, I feel like making somewhat of a difference whether it’s negative or positive.
But absolutely, there were better moments of my life like with that song. I usually write from a place of isolation or depression or whatever it may be, but that’s usually how I deal with the negativity when it arises. The positivity, I’m usually so embraced in the moment that I’m not writing about it as much, but it does happen sometimes.
RL: There is some kind of irony, that despite your work being born out of an area of depression or anxiety, whatever it might be, it’s this interesting irony at play that makes people who listen feel more hopeful. It’s almost a reverse effect.
FB: And that’s what my favourite artist did for me, and I can only hope that my art has that effect on other people, finding that shared comradery with an artist and you’re like “Wow, I’m not alone, someone else is also going through these things”. It’s so powerful, I remember when I first discovered that, that was the main reason I even started writing music in the first place because it had such a strong effect on me in that regard.
RL: In March of this year, you released your newest EP, ‘Anarchy and Ashes’. Compared to the previous album, was this easier project for you and the band to create?
FB: Absolutely, definitely. This was pretty much just a few months and I made it with Tim Skold and Daniel Alcala, he’s the guitar player in the band. That just came together so quickly because, essentially, the reason for creating that project was to create songs that we thought could go over well live.
We got this opportunity to tour Europe, playing these club shows and I wanted to have a physical product that we could come and bring with us to sell, promote and have music with the tour. That’s why we created it, there’s certain parts of those songs that are call-and-response moments with the crowd, football stadium chants. Most of our shows were in Germany, ‘Rock Me Amadeus’ is in German so that was to connect better with the audience. It has a club beat in the background, and having anything club-oriented always goes well. People are there to dance, have fun, and drink.
I remember it felt like a moment of my life with a lot of hope and optimism. If you listen to the music, it’s rather dark, but that’s more so the aesthetic.
RL: What do the steps in your creative process usually look like?
FB: We definitely start with the music first, so whether that’s the guitar or a piano part. The music itself inspires the melody that I write the lyrics to. That’s kind of always what it was. In terms of my creative process specifically, I got inspired from Slvador Dali, who has a similar process. He would never paint, unless he was about to fall asleep, he would purposefully stay up for like 36 hours until he was about to sleep. The reason why, was to tap into that subconscious part of the mind.
I try to do something similar, I try to let intuition guide me in whichever way. When I start to overthink things, that’s when I lose track of that part of my brain that I feel can find lyrics easier.
RL: When collaborating with so many artists, how do you come to an agreement of what a project should sound like? Do you find yourself in disagreement often, are you more open to external ideas?
FB: I would say that, honestly, this comes pretty naturally. I meet so many new people and artists, usually if I like them and their vibe, I’ll just say “Hey, do you want to make a song, create art together?”. For me, it becomes a fun way to create music and to learn more about yourself and the art you create. Really, I just let it flow naturally.
RL: Is there one artist that you’d love to collaborate with, but haven’t had the chance to yet?
FB: There’s a lot! Some really popular, big people I would kill to collaborate with. Tyler, The Creator, Bring Me The Horizon. I would be so excited about a collaboration like that. There’s a lot of artists that inspire me. I would totally fangirl out over it, if I had the opportunity to work with them or be involved with them in some way.
In the Return of Rock magazine, you mentioned that besides artists from the rock genre, you also find inspiration in hip-hop and as you’ve just mentioned, Tyler, The Creator is a massive inspiration. As a hip-hop fan myself, I’d love to know: which other hip-hop artist do you look up to the most? Maybe someone who’s been informative for you throughout your career?
FB: The first rapper I fell in love with was Tupac. I would listen to him all the time in middle school, I just loved his poetry and the way that he saw the world. A little bit later, the influence and catalyst for the Love Ghost songs was the Soundcloud movement – Lil Peep, BONES, Suicideboys – but particularly Lil Peep. I really felt a connection to his music and his lyrics, his aesthetic. That was a big influence for me. Eminen is another one.
RL: How has the city of Los Angeles shaped your sound?
FB: A 110%. I’ve lived all over Los Angeles, I was born in Hollywood and then grew up in Pasadena which is a suburb. I lived in Skid Row, in Downtown LA, and all these different parts. There’s so much culture and music in LA that you can find, if you’re open to receiving it.
LA plays a huge role in how I see the world, write lyrics and listen to music. There’s definitely a distinct West Coast sound. It’s a big part of my soul and my heart, it plays a big role in my perspective and of course, in the art I create.
RL: So, on topic with Skid Row, in the first song of your most recent EP – ‘Revolution Evolution’ – you write the lyrics “I met Jesus on Skid Row, and he helped me start a riot”. What’s the meaning behind those lyrics for you?
FB: Thank you for catching those lyrics! It actually holds a lot of meaning for me. I’ve spent a lot of time down there, and usually people think that it’s scary, or super messed up. I definitely did see intense things, but I actually felt a great sense of community there, that you don’t find in other areas. Like, there’s not enough humanity in Beverly Hills to even see your neighbour because the hedges are so high that you wouldn’t even know who they are.
When I would walk around Skid Row, there is a sense of hope and just in the sense of so many people trying to help those who are mentally unwell or unhoused. To me, what that lyric comes down to is a specific interaction I had in Skid Row.
I was walking around at the Sixth and San Julian intersection and I happened to be wearing all white that day, and this man from South America approached me. He started talking about angels and Jesus, about his son who lost his way at a certain point, that he has no connection to him anymore and can’t find him. He felt like I was an angel or something like that, just rambling on and on. That moment definitely stuck with me.
On top of that, when the Downtown LA ICE riots were happening, the song actually samples the protests/riots because I was there, it was right outside where I was living. I think about the concept of God and religion, and I’m not religious at all, but if Jesus was to come back and go to Skid Row, would he be an ICE agent or more likely be a homeless man on Skid Row, trying to help people to create a sense of community. I think the answer is pretty obvious but I leave that open to interpretation.
RL: Which makes me think that there exists some political, if not outrage with then at the very least allusion, throughout your music. Would you say it’s something important for you to talk about in your art?
FB: I think a little bit. I’ll mention it here and there, drop some hints along the way. I’m into subliminal messaging and trying to make people think in different ways they wouldn’t normally think. It’s important, it’s people’s lives and a lot is going on, so one way to inspire change is to make art about it, write about it, and spread awareness. I’m not the most politically active music artist in the world, but I definitely touch on it.
RL: And it’s brave to do so, because many fear that if they speak out they fear losing a status and career. Have you ever felt the need to be cautious?
FB: Yeah, definitely. There’s certain topics I think are so divisive. It requires a level of nuance, or sensitivity to be able to talk about. If I just put out a tweet or one lyric, it doesn’t capture that nuance. It should be a conversation that I have if they want to fully understand me.
There’s a few topics I try to not bring up, just for the sake of that. When I do speak about it, I’d like an opportunity to explain how I see it, and have a discourse, also to maybe have someone challenge me.
You have to be careful, especially as a touring artist when going internationally, and free speech isn’t a global thing. I think some American artists don’t think about it as much.
That doesn’t mean you should compromise your belief system or anything like that.
RL: Moving a bit away from serious topics, ‘Anarchy and Ashes’ also contains the aforementioned cover song of ‘Rock Me Amadeus’. What’s the reason behind choosing this song specifically, out of all the European rock and club classics?
FB: It was a direct reason, and that’s because of all the shows in Germany and Austria. I think Falco has the only song by an Austrian artist to go No. 1 globally. I wanted to connect with that audience, who all knew that song. It just works well in a live setting.
Actually, Tim Skold gave me the idea to cover it. When he was on tour with a different band, they would play it in Germany and he said it always worked well. If you’re going on tour internationally, or even in Bakersfield, California I would want to create something about your show that connects with the local audience. For me, that’s sometimes speaking in Spanish, or having a song in Spanish in Mexico, or covering a German song.
RL: It’s a very culturally iconic, cult song. I know people can be very critical of covers, especially of their beloved artists. Do you ever feel pressure when covering such songs, to do them and their artists some form of justice?
RL: Yeah, there’s definitely a standard you have to meet and think about, especially when covering a passed away artist and how much Falco means to people in Europe. I definitely had to take that into consideration, and there were a few comments flaming it, like “Who do you think you are? You cannot cover Falco! What is this?”.
I try to show as much respect and honour to the artists I’m covering, but also recreate it in a way unique to myself. That’s the most essential tightrope to walk when creating a cover of a classic song like that. It’s honouring the artist and the legacy but also reimagining it in some way, so it fits your aesthetic. But there were some crazy YouTube comments!
RL: How do you feel about meeting external expectations about your art?
FB: There were definitely a few people that, even after the shows, in Austria and Germany that didn’t know what to expect from the cover, which took me aback, but they said I did pretty decent with the German pronunciation. So there is a level of expectation I feel when it comes to those comments.
I also try to keep a high internal set of expectations for myself so I don’t get lazy or slow with the music.
But, that pressure can either break you or create you, and at some point you start to pick yourself apart but having a little bit of that is good to keep you moving and pushing forward
RL: Which song holds the most meaning for you from the ‘Anarchy and Ashes’ EP?
FB: Probably ‘Revolution Evolution’. The lyrics to that song, especially at the time I wrote with everything going on in the world, they capture how I felt. That song means a lot to me.
RL: I often ask my interviewees this question: as a TV and movie fan, you’ve also mentioned that you’d love Love Ghost to expand to film in Naluda Magazine and even acted in a horror film yourself (Cursed in Baja), what one movie would you love to have scored or what genre do you envision for Love Ghost, if ever presented with the opportunity to produce a soundtrack?
FB: It’s funny you mention that because the next project I’m working on, I’m trying to create a short film and the album will be the soundtrack to the short film. But actually, there’s quite a few movies I would’ve loved to have a role in the soundtrack. One of my favourite movies of all time is ‘The Place Beyond the Pines’. I would love to have made music for that movie.
‘Sons of Anarchy’, especially the harder rock songs, or even the softer stuff too at certain moments, that’s another big one.
I’ve always been drawn to circus and carnival aesthetics, and I’m blanking on the name of the TV show, but in the mid-2000s, there was a really dope circus show on FX. It only had a few seasons and it might’ve been called ‘Carnival’ or something. ‘American Horror Story’ season would be crazy, I’d be so excited to do that. Anything spooky, coming-of-age dramas as well.
Just this morning I saw on Instagram a Euphoria edit to one of Love Ghost’s songs, ‘Silk Noose’ which made me super excited because I love that show. If I could have some say in the music in that, that would be a dream come true. The music played such a huge role in the storytelling too. It’s a bit all over the place, with the genres. But visual storytelling and auditory elements go hand in hand, so the options are limitless for creating soundtracks for a good movie.
RL: What’s one thing or skill you learnt as an actor that you’ve found transferable and helpful as a musician?
FB: Truly just creating a world around your art, creating a character for your art and I try to do that in the music videos. I do my makeup and draw out what I want the character to look like for the music videos with the visuals. You can write a song that fits in a certain world, where a character would be living in and residing. That to me is powerful, that’s what acting taught me – it’s how to create a world inside your head that you can revert back to. In music there’s a lot of similarities in that process, you’re also creating a world you can go back to and draw emotion from.
RL: Let’s talk about your tour, then, because you recently performed across different countries in Europe. Have you found any noticeable differences between the American and European audiences?
FB: European audiences so far are much nicer and cooler! I’ve had good experiences in America, but I get all the opportunities from afar and not as much from the place I’m from. European audiences are so supportive and kind. I thought the culture was artist-friendly, that America doesn’t have as much.
Hopefully, down the line I’ll have some cool experiences with American audiences too!
RL: Do you have any specific, memorable experiences from this most recent tour?
FB: Oh my god, there’s some wild stories! Let me tell you one particular story that was pretty crazy. So, we were sleeping overnight in Belgium, driving from London to Vienna. One thing about mainland Europe that’s not a thing in the USA and UK is they charge you to use the restroom, it’s not much and we see the machine at the gas station to pay for the restroom. I was with my bandmates and friends, and I was like “Check this out, I’m so flexible”, so I limboed under the machine in front of everyone and we’re all laughing. I’m in the restroom, at the stall and I hear a pounding with “Policia! Policia!”. I’m like, “There’s no way”, and I turn around and I’m in a compromised position here! But I turn around and see him cock his gun, and I think “Over a quarter? This is crazy.” Fight or flight took over, and I ran, I was really fast growing up and not as much now but I can try my best. It was probably not the smartest thing to do, but I ran out of the bathroom, jumped over the machine and started telling everyone that we needed to go. They had no idea what I’m talking about, and I was like “I’m going to go to jail in Belgium”. What was actually going on, is that they were arresting an international drug-smuggling heroin dealer. This guy had hundreds of kilos of it, just moving around mainland Europe and they happened to catch him at that station that we were using. I was in a stall next to him, right after I did that! I thought they were coming for me and that that’s where the story ended for me.
It sounds fake but it’s completely real! It’s so wild.
RL: That’s the most insane story anyone has ever told me, and it feels so inappropriate to move onto this question, but what has been your favourite venue that you’ve played this year?
FB: There were so many, so many cool ones. Especially on this tour, we’ve played amazing places like the Voodoo Club in Warsaw, Poland and Arena Wein in Vienna. That was amazing, LARK in Berlin as well…
But one that stood out to me was Voodoo Club in Warsaw, that was a super cool place. One thing that was interesting was a small town in Austria, Liedersdorf and we played in a barn. There was no light pollution, and I remember these bonfires outside my window throughout the village. I said “what’s up with those?” and I guess it’s a tradition to ward off evil spirits at certain hours, they all light up the bonfires to drive away the evil spirits from the forest. It felt very ‘Midsommar’-coded, very interesting.
RL: Love Ghost has been extensively described as a place, a corner for the ‘societal outliers’ and those who struggle to find a place in the world. From that, have you ever had a memorable exchange with a fan?
FB: Definitely on this tour, seeing people get tattoos for the project. One thing in particular that happened in Manchester, there was a girl with her family who really wanted to go to the show but couldn’t because she was underage. She’s about 13 or 14, so we invited her and her family to the soundcheck and just played her favourite songs. She gave me this homemade Love Ghost vinyl out of cardboard, like an arts-and-crafts thing, that was a really special experience. It was great meeting her and her family, and playing a mini-concert just for them.
It sort of becomes a thing, that the art you create becomes valuable by whom it is shared with and that was one moment that reminded me of that.
RL: Love Ghost had the EP featured in the Rolling Stone magazine. That is a huge achievement! Do you think there’s anything else on your bucket list; something you really hope to achieve in the next few years with your career?
FB: Absolutely, playing more music festivals, hitting certain accolades. Really what it comes down to is being able to make a cultural difference with your art and exactly how that’s measured or quantified can be hard to pinpoint, or pin down. But eventually, you’ll know. You can feel the shift, that your art is reaching the right people and they’re creating the right things for your project. One moment I wanted to have is a song in a big movie, or TV show. That would be huge. For now, I’m just continuing to create music and continuing to perform when I get to perform.
RL: If there’s one message or piece of advice you’d like to leave the readers of this interview with, what would it be?
FB: Just be yourself, that’s all you need to be. Everybody else is taken, so stay true to the genuine expression of your heart.
Afterword:
If you’d like to keep up with Love Ghost, their upcoming projects and tours, you can follow them on Instagram here: Instagram | @loveghost_official. You can also find their website using this link, which also enables you to support them through merchandise: Love Ghost.
Thank you, once again, to Finnegan Bell for showing up to this conversation. Love Ghost is a testament that the emo/grunge communities have not been left behind in the ether of the 90s and 2000s. The genre is still very much alive, constantly evolving and shaping new communities. Love Ghost will be a part of its legacy.
Photo credit: Daniel Modeste.
Article by Rozalia Lewandowska