I had high expectations for Ghost and Goblin. The idea of a duo producing cheesy, haunted-house style electronic beats sounds more than awesome to me. After listening to the group’s album SUPERHORRORCASTLELAND, however, I feel like there’s something left to be desired. The biggest problem is that the album is just too slow. Each track has ambient-like vocals that are more color than lyrics, and these drudging voices give the whole album more of a half-time feel. This, coupled with the stock percussion arrangements, results in a sound that’s too transparent. If Ghost and Goblin could just pick the speed up a little bit, I feel like their sound would be more accessible to the average listener. The beat arrangements also needed more work. At such a slow tempo, rhythms need to be more opaque and interesting – sometimes I felt like I was listening to some kind of sloppy reggae. That being said, the idea of eerie retro-bit music is still a good one – and in certain tracks, such as “Skeletons in the Closet”, it works really well. “Magic Missiles” also deserves special mention; in my opinion it’s the best track on the album and is exactly the geeky, cheesy beat I was hoping for from the group. Personally I think Ghost and Goblin should capitalize on that Protomen-like bit-beat sound in the future. But in the meantime, if you’re into ambient-core and slower electronic beats, check out Ghost and Goblin.
Bottom Line: Niche audience and a great concept , but needed more development.
Want to hear G&G’s new album for yourself? Go to ghostandgoblin.bandcamp.com
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