Cinematic Post-Rock Project Thistle Sifter Reveals New Video Single from Upcoming Album.

Cinematic post-rock project Thistle Sifter will release new single Ghost Acres today, Friday 9th January 2026. Thistle Sifter is a cinematic instrumental post-rock project by English musician Pete Barnes (Utrecht, NL). Ghost Acres is the second track to be released from new album Forever The Optimist, due for release on Friday 6th February 2026 both digitally and on vinyl and cd.

New single Ghost Acres was inspired by the book Regenesis by George Monbiot and also features a quote from Monbiot talking about the effects of modern day agriculture on our natural environment.

In an age where most developed countries outsource food production, ghost acres represent the real amount of land that is needed to produce the products that we consume. The title of the track symbolises the idea that most Westerners live their lives dependent on ghost acreage, far removed from the origins of the food they are consuming.

The confronting imagery used in the video by Dutch visual artist Nici Metselaar highlights the ongoing devastation caused by large scale agriculture and the knock-on effects this has for the climate worldwide, whilst at the same time confronting the viewer with harrowing imagery of the origins of the products Western consumers purchase on a daily basis.

Check out the video premiere of Ghost Acres together with an detailed interview over at Veil of Sound:

https://veilofsound.com/2026/01/09/Song_Premiere_Thistle_Sifter.html

Listen watch:

Thistle Sifter - Ghost Acres (official music video)

THISTLE SIFTER - 'Ghost Acres'

Catapulted into disarray following a serious cycling accident in November 2020, Thistle Sifter became a platform for Barnes to express his personal struggles and emotions, transporting listeners into an ethereal world of serene post-rock, spacey synth ambience, evolving soundscapes & lo-fi folk.

Forever The Optimist is Barnes’ latest and most ambitious work to date, offering a more eclectic and symphonic sound to his ever-expanding body of work. Where previous albums A Spectral Moon (2022) and Circles (2024) strongly focused on personal struggles with health, acceptance and letting go of the past. Forever The Optimist deals with existential issues caused by man's neglect of our natural environment and fellow humans in the pursuit of neverending growth.

Heavily inspired by writers Jay Griffiths, George Monbiot, Omar El Akkad and Siddharth Kara, the eight compositions touch on themes such as land use, animal rights, cobalt mining in the Congo, climate breakdown, neo-liberalism and the media’s complicity in genocide. Each track on the album is accompanied by thematic visuals.