Holy Ghost! have to be one of my favourite artists on the DFA roster, so you can understand that I was miiiighty excited when I heard they were putting out their debut album. Holy Ghost! have always been renowned for their unique take on modern house and disco styles, blended with tongue-in-cheek references to 80's and 90's electronic pop music - just listen to 'Say My Name' off their Static In The Wire EP - and their love for analog bass lines have always helped them settle well in DFA's catalog. Although they'd only put out a few singles on DFA since getting their start in 2007, they absolutely crashed onto the scene with 2008's single 'Hold On' which was a glorious slice of synthy, disco-pop-throwback.
This new album has them sounding a little bit like Cut-Copy's latest effort, another favourite synth-pop/future disco LP of mine, although I'd have to say that the production is more straightforward and less lush than Cut Copy's. It definitely feels more tailored to the dancefloor, which is where Holy Ghost! have always won the most hearts. - look no further than final track 'Some Children' for evidence of that.
A few previously released tracks make appearances on the full-length, which as a long-time fan I was a little disappointed about, but there's no doubt they're good songs and including them on the album is a smart move to introduce new fans to some of the duo's stronger previous work. As for the other tracks, they generally conform to the trail that the duo have been following thus far in their careers. Along with obvious first single 'Do It Again', 'Jam For Jerry' is probably the strongest new track on the release in my mind; it's a propulsive and danceable future-disco number which will probably be picked up by Triple J.
All in all I'm quite impressed by the release, but then, I probably wouldn't post anything I didn't like a lot on this blog. I'm probably going to start another blog where I just rip on stuff like Ke$ha and still take the time to provide a download. /joke. On a side note, didja hear about all the mothers dragging their tweens out of Ke$ha's run of concerts 'round Australia? You'd think they would have realized that they needed to do a bit more parenting (and/or research) before they took their kids along in the first place, IMO.
With any luck Holy Ghost! will tour down-under sometime soon off the back of this - looking forward to it immensely.
Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost! (2011) [.zip /// MF]
later,
