Rating:
Genre:
Electronica
Release Date: 07/08/2008
When
Simian disbanded, the majority of the group became
Simian Mobile Disco, while former singer
Simon Lord hooked up with former
Wiseguys producer
DJ Touche (aka
Theo Keating) and became one half of
the Black Ghosts. Though the duo's self-titled debut album is less bouncy and eclectic than
Simian's work,
Lord's years with that band sharpened his pop skills, and his smooth croon is still immediately recognizable. To be fair to
the Black Ghosts,
Lord and
Touche whip through nearly as many sounds and hooks as
Simian did -- they just take a subtler, slightly more sophisticated approach that fits in nicely with
Hot Chip,
Chromeo,
Gorillaz (it's no coincidence that
Damon Albarn makes a cameo on
"Repetition Kills You"), and other dance-meets-rock contemporaries.
The Black Ghosts cover both ends of that spectrum, opening the album with the bleak rock of
"Some Way Through This" and returning to heavier guitars on
"Until It Comes Again," and delivering more straightforward dance on
"I Don't Know" and
"Face." However, the duo sound best when they're right in the middle of those sounds, mixing and matching styles and coating them with pop gloss. The singles
"Anyway You Choose to Give It" and
"I Want Nothing" rival the best songs by
the Black Ghosts' more established peers, while the soft rock/synth pop fusion of
"Something New" and
"It's Your Touch" is appealingly nostalgic and novel-sounding at the same time.
"Full Moon" blends plaintive harmonies and fingerpicked acoustic guitars borrowed from British folk with subtler electronic touches, offering a refreshing change of pace as well as a side to
the Black Ghosts' sound that they should explore further. Though a few songs border on being filler,
The Black Ghosts is still a promising debut.
~Heather Phares, All Music Guide
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