Ghostkeeper's Balloon Moon began with a prop balloon and a bad news day

Shane Ghostkeeper talk-sings about genocide and "grotesque extraction" on the title track of Balloon Moon, then in the chorus says he is lucky to have his balloon moon. The lyric came from a real moment at home about a year and a half ago: he was overwhelmed by news about Palestine and Israel, genocide and Trump, when his wife and musical partner Sarah Houle walked in carrying a prop balloon from a video shoot, still in costume and makeup.

The album is the seventh studio release from the Calgary band, out October 27 on Toronto's Victory Pool Records. The band formed in Calgary in 2008.

"Music, guitar compositions and songs, are basically my No. 1 spiritual practice," Ghostkeeper said. "It's how I deal with not only the world at large and how it affects me, but also how I navigate life." He said the goal this time was to be as vulnerable as possible rather than to write a single. The lyrics were not fully formed when recording began. He sang largely in falsetto, with R&B leanings, and admitted he was nervous at the start of the sessions with producer Josh Rob Gwilliam at OCL Studios.

The band has long taken on Indigenous life and history. Its 2022 album Multidimensional Culture looked at modern Indigenous life, and its 2016 concept album Sheer Blouse Buffalo Knocks dealt with environmental damage in northern Alberta. Ghostkeeper says a feature film he is now shooting, Little People, continues that story. The film is expected to wrap by the end of 2026, and he expects to start taking gigs again in the spring.