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A project that combines the talents of Simon William Lord, a
former member of underachieving psychedelic electro-rockers
Simian, and DJ/producer Theo Keating, The Black Ghosts have
already made some influential friends. That most irrepressible of
musical chameleons Damon Albarn provided guest vocals on their
2008 self-titled debut album, while the record’s stand out track Full
Moon appeared on the soundtrack of the hugely popular vampire film
Twilight. Now back after a three year hiatus, When Animals Stare
has been eagerly anticipated as a potential breakthrough for the duo,
but ultimately disappoints.
Both Lord and Keating already have established solo careers,
recording as Lord Skywave and Fake Blood respectively,
and work together remotely as The Black Ghosts, sending one another
files over the internet rather than sharing studio time. Over the last
few years, it’s been proved that the combination of a dance producer
and an indie song writer can work very well – Danger Mouse and
James Mercer of The Shins’ 2010 album as Broken Bells
being a good example. Unfortunately, The Black Ghosts’ theoretically
intriguing blend of Keating’s dynamic techno and Lord’s experimental
weirdness never really materialises. What we get instead is a
slightly leftfield brand of smartly produced electro pop, not too
dissimilar to Junior Boys in some ways, but altogether brasher
and lacking the Canadian act’s subtlety and emotional undertow.
The record starts off confidently with Water Will Find A Way’s
staccato brass riff, but as so often the case with The Black Ghosts’
songs, the momentum is lost when Lord’s thin, reedy vocals enter the
mix. Asked to carry a would-be epic tune on his shoulders, he sags
under the strain and the opportunity is lost. A further orchestral
flourish – a sudden, unexpected wash of strings near the track’s close
– add to an initial impression that the icing on this particular cake
is rather more palatable than the core ingredients.
A similar trend prevails throughout When Animals Stare. Walking On
The Moon’s insipid, weedy disco-soul is partially redeemed by the
second half’s chopping strings. Even In The Darkness’s infectious bass
line and cinematic atmospherics evoke the memory of Michael
Jackson’s Smooth Criminal, but the melody sprawled over the top is
weak by comparison. Screeching violins and crunching, atonal slabs of
electronica effectively summon up a musical landscape of
claustrophobic paranoia on Diamonds, but yet again, the song itself
fails to engage with the listener.
Occasionally the collaboration does all come together well. That’s
All There Is, with its funky rhythm, '80s synthesisers and a less
stretched vocal from Lord, shows what The Black Ghosts can be capable
of. Sanguinella has the most uplifting, supple tune of the entire
album, with some twinkling harpsichord adding the now customary dashes
of colour, and Forgetfulness’s warped, gothic vaudeville is strangely
catchy. But overall, the wealth of ideas here are let down by some
flimsy song writing, not least on closing track Your Soul Is Free,
which brings When Animals Stare to an end with rather a forgettable
whimper.
In one interview, The Black Ghosts describe their new album as “the
sound of a robot casting spells in a disco on the moon”, perhaps in an
attempt to sum up their ambition to create their own kind of gothic,
spacey take on the now tried and tested indie-dance crossover. There
are times when that vision does come close to being realised, but the
most memorable moments of When Animals Stare are generally selected,
disparate elements of their music rather than the whole package, which
ends up frustrating more than it inspires.
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