Eight years after forming as teenagers in Ukraine, The Sixsters are entering a new phase of their career with Ghost, their third English-language album and the most emotionally focused release yet.
Over the past several years, the band has navigated displacement, interrupted plans, international touring, festival stages, and a growing audience far beyond their home country. They’ve kept evolving without settling into a single genre or identity.
Sonic Pulse Reviews spoke with The Sixsters about Ghost, creative freedom, life after survival mode, and where the band goes next.
The Sixsters Ghost and a New Chapter
SPR: April 7th was Ghost‘s release date and your 8th anniversary as a band. Was that intentional, and what does it mean to you to mark those two milestones at the same time?
The Sixsters: Yeah – it was intentional. We liked the idea of tying those together. Eight years as a band and a new release on the same day felt like a good way to mark a reset – looking back at everything we’ve done while also starting a new chapter with “Ghost.”
SPR: The title Ghost is striking. Where did that come from — is it a concept that threads through the whole album, or did the title come after the songs took shape?
The Sixsters: This is a concept that threads through the whole album. In the last 5-10 years, people have grown to be much more present online rather than in real life. Studies also show that loneliness rate is higher than ever, and this is exactly the topic we wanted to highlight – feeling lonely and invisible.
Inside the Making of Ghost
SPR: Walk us through how a typical song comes together. Did that process change while making Ghost?
The Sixsters: Usually, it all starts during rehearsal. Someone can start playing a riff, drum beat or something else, and we just develop it together. “Ghost” writing process was definitely way faster and more uncomplicated.
SPR: The track list covers a lot of emotional ground: there’s “Don’t Look Back,” “Everything I Owned,” “Wings” — and then you’ve got “Rap” and “Fame” in the middle. How intentional was the sequencing? Is there a narrative arc you were building?
The Sixsters: Honestly, we wanted to give the listener time to rest from highly emotional songs, such as “Everything I Owned”. This track-listing gives the opportunity to enjoy the material to the fullest and not be tired or bored.
Pushing Beyond Labels
SPR: Your sound has been described as punk, metal, pop rock, art rock — you’ve pushed back hard on being boxed in. When you were writing Ghost, were you consciously expanding in a new direction, or did you just follow where the songs went?
The Sixsters: It’s kinda a mix of both. We are always open to try new things, to experiment, that’s why you can find hella different things on “Ghost”. But sometimes we just did what the song required and how we felt it should’ve sounded.
SPR: “No Standards” was such a ferocious statement going into this album cycle. Does Ghost feel like a continuation of that attitude, or is it a different chapter?
The Sixsters: Actually, it’s correct to say that “No Standards” is a continuation of “Ghost”, but yeah, they are definitely connected and in the future you will understand why even more.
From Survival to Momentum
SPR: You opened for Beatsteaks in front of 7,000 people in Vienna and Munich. You played Glastonbury. How do those big-stage moments change you? Does the dynamic in the room affect how you perform?
The Sixsters: So, firstly, it gave us more confidence. Right now we feel that we’re capable of playing any size of the venue, that we’re professional and experienced enough to open for such big acts as Beatsteaks, and also headlining our own shows. And, secondly, thanks to these occasions, we gained wider recognition. But it still doesn’t matter, whether we play in front of 20 or 20000 people – we always give 100%.
SPR: Your story has reached listeners far beyond your home country. How has that shaped the way you think about your music today?
The Sixsters: Music is an international language and can unite people from all over the world and is available to any age category. It’s cool that our music does something so global.
SPR: The war displaced everyone and disrupted everything — a stadium tour, your home, your plans. But you came out the other side with I’m Gonna Be, then To Be Continued…, and now Ghost. At what point did it stop feeling like survival and start feeling like momentum?
The Sixsters: Approximately 1.5 years after it all started, we performed at Glastonbury and it was the moment, when we finally felt – peaceful life and joy do exist and our future looked very promising in that moment.
“We’re trying to go somewhere honest.”
Looking Ahead
SPR: Festival dates in Germany are on the calendar this summer. What does a The Sixsters live show look like in 2026 — what are you bringing to the stage that wasn’t there a year or two ago?
The Sixsters: More experience, new songs and a lot of rock’n’roll energy.
SPR: There’s a song on this album called “Wings.” If the band had wings right now — where are you trying to go?
The Sixsters: We’re trying to go somewhere honest. Somewhere bigger than where we started, but also more stripped down. A place where the music actually matches what we feel, not what works.
SPR: What do you hope listeners take away after hearing Ghost from start to finish?
The Sixsters: If people finish it and feel understood, or hear something that helps them process their own stuff, then it did what it was supposed to do.
Final Thoughts
With Ghost, The Sixsters sound more confident in who they are than ever before: not confined by genre, expectation, or circumstance. What began eight years ago has evolved into a band still Loud, Unlabeled, and Unbroken: willing to experiment, pushing forward, and refusing easy labels.
If Ghost is the start of a new chapter, The Sixsters sound ready for wherever it leads.
Sonic Pulse Reviews thanks The Sixsters for taking time for this interview during a busy year of touring and promotion.
Ghost is available now on all streaming platforms.
