On Repeat: Ghosthustler: "Parking Lot Nights" and "Losing Tracks" [MP3]
The UK has Klaxons and "new rave," but the dance sound grabbing people's attention Stateside is sneeringly called "blog house": The electronic acts who produce and remix those NME faves-- artists on French labels like Ed Banger and Kitsuné. It's still surprising how quickly aggressive synth-disco has moved from decadent Parisian clubs to, say, Denton, Texas, where you'll find unsigned MySpace sensations Ghosthustler. Citing Kavinsky and Junior Boys as influences, the new band carries on in a similar woozy, pop-oriented electronic tradition.
Over the strapping electro-funk of "Parking Lot Nights", singer Alan Palomo's filtered shouts sound a bit like Shaun Ryder on Gorillaz' "D.A.R.E.", except not completely out of his mind. "I think I need to take a break/ Because there's only so much I can physically take," Palomo complains, as the Daft Punk-like synth hook makes other plans. Raygun blips and twinkling synth decorate the verses like alien tinsel, until eventually the beefy rhythm section drops out and Ghosthustler leave us with the sound of Texas and Berlin clapping.
"Losing Tracks", the band's other MySpace entry, flashes similar moves. A buzzing, arpeggiated Italo bass line and crisp, distorted snares whir beneath Palomo's echoey dancefloor invocations, while a heavy bass foot keeps things moving. The dreamy ambience isn't dissimilar to Thieves Like Us' "Drugs in My Body", but Palomo's confident vocals impress even when they're hard to decipher. Finally, pill-snorting Vice types have an unironic reason to like Texas.
MP3: > Ghosthustler: "Parking Lot Nights"