The Black Ghosts Album Review

New CD with Anyway You Choose To Give It & ‘Some Way Through This

Jul 15, 2008

The Black Ghosts release their debut album of dance floor friendly tunes and a mixed bag of surprising sounds

When UK psychedelic group Simian broke up, most band members re-formed as Simian Mobile Disco, except for lead singer, Simon Lord, who instead created The Black Ghosts with DJ Touche.

Together the pair have been remixing and producing for other artists along with their own music. On their self-titled debut album, The Black Ghosts have collected various singles(“Face”, "Some Way Through This", "Anyway You Choose to Give It") released in the past few years and placed them next to brand new compositions. The result is a fairly straight forward electronic album that leans more towards the down tempo side of electro than dance floor ready jams.

On their record, The Black Ghosts seamlessly walk from one musical style to another fusing rock-meets-dance that feels both new yet familiar, like a poltergeist living in the attic that fails to frighten anymore, or Hot Chip.

Some Way Through This

Similar in style to Depeche Mode, The Black Ghosts spin tales involving multiple layers with shadowy and confusing storylines buried under lighter music and dark overtones.

Lead track, the scarce electronic plea for understanding and a chance to prove oneself, “Some Way Through This”, sounds urgent and desperate. “You could be right here, but would you say what you mean or would you wait until I'm gone, and you are lonely, and you blame me for never understanding”, Lord sings in a detached voice.

“I Want Nothing” continues with playful beats bouncing off bleak lyrics “I want nothing but the love of the next stranger who walks through that door / I want nothing but to dissolve in the night and to feel direction no more”.

Anyway You Choose To Give It

Changing direction on “Anyway You Choose To Give It”, the most floor ready track of the disc, the track culminates dirty pop, New Wave and lyrics that again lean towards the darker side of human drama.

“It's Your Touch” and “Until It Comes Again” reach back into late 70’s funk for lounge-sounding slices of psychedelica that scratch the surface of hip hop without diving too far into uncharted waters.

Adding guitars and guest vocalist Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz), “Repetition Kills You” marries subtle summertime rock with electronica and faux African melody. Possibly the breeziest track on the album, it could easily fit on a Gorillaz album without much reworking.

The Black Ghost Sound

Though a highly enjoyable album, The Black Ghosts haven’t yet decided on a sound. They drift into dance-tinged folk on “Full Moon” with full vocals, campfire guitar strums and deep, yet oddly disturbing lyrics of self discovery, “I am going out to see what I can sow / And I don't know where I'll go/ And I don't know what I'll see / But I'll try not to bring it back home with me”, and then rock into “I Don't Know”.

Because of these tangents, and changes in direction and sound throughout the album, The Black Ghosts defy classification. It’s the hint of electronica that threads this album together, not a theme or particular style. In all it makes the Black Ghosts one of the more interesting groups to come along in quite some time.

While The Black Ghosts’ debut album isn’t perfect, it shows great promise of things to come.

The copyright of the article The Black Ghosts Album Review in Electronica (Music) is owned by James W. Coates. Permission to republish The Black Ghosts Album Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.