Ghostland Observatory

Aiming to create dance floor anthems, the Austin, TX band Ghostland Observatory takes a minimalist approach–it's really just front man Aaron Behrens and producer/drummer Thomas Turner–to a maximalist sound, that of throbbing, mid-'90s electronica, club-ready and bridging the gap between icy technology and grimy human bodies. Behrens specializes in a hyper-emphatic, round-voweled-yet-breathy sort of delivery that’s not too far off from Freddie Mercury, and for those who’d prefer a more elemental experience with electronic dance music, well, his vocals only pop up on about half the tunes as it is.

From the plinky, rubbery synth intro on "The Band Marches On" to the the more churning basslines of the instrumental track "Holy Ghost White Noise," there's nothing particularly new that Robotique Majestique offers up. But new's not the point with an album like Robotique Majestique; it aims to incite giddy dancing, and its incessant rock-influenced Euro-dance tunes provide that very opportunity, regardless of whether that’s already been done recently (Head Automatica) or near-perfectly (Daft Punk). In fact, the album’s biggest drawback is that it is an album (not to get too extratextual here), and inherently lacks the visual stimulus associated with Ghostland Observatory's captivatingly showy live performances–Behrens often gets soaked with sweat as he prances about the stage in ridiculous costumes, while Turner does the same in front of a laptop, clad in a cape. Robotique Majestique suggests strongly at that visceral experience, though it never quite captures it (the frenetic, yowly, Kathleen Hanna-conjuring “HFM” comes pretty damn close, however).

So: Derivative? Yes. But fun? Also, yes.

—Chris Hassiotis
04.30.08

Three albums into their career, Austin's Ghostland Observatory still have to take more than their share of comparisons to Daft Punk -- so much so that from the title on down, Robotique Majestique pretty much drops the pretense that the French duo isn't a direct influence. Singer Aaron Behrens' guitar, previously Ghostland Observatory's most musically unique element, is notable in its absence, leaving multi-instrumentalist producer Thomas Turner's undeniably Daft Punk-influenced synths and beats the only counterpoint to Behrens' squalling vocals. On songs like "No Place for Me" and "Dancing on My Grave," what results is a peculiar mashup of electronic dance-funk tunes and '80s hair metal vocals, a strange but unexpectedly compelling blend of two retro fashion statements that one would never expect to work as well together as they do. If all of Robotique Majestique explored similar territory, it would be nonstop (albeit slightly tacky) fun, but the album is larded with tracks like the sloggy instrumentals "Holy Ghost White Noise" and "Club Soda," the dated industrial noise-funk of "HFM," and the weedy title track, which sounds like Turner and Behrens are hoping for a Go West revival to be the big dance music trend of 2008. Despite the missteps, well over half of Robotique Majestique is terrifically entertaining; it just seems like the hit-to-miss ratio could have been so much higher without much more effort. ~ Stewart Mason, All Music Guide