Holy Ghost!, Dynamics
Featured Album
The electro enthusiasts amplify their pop tendencies and diversify their sound
NYC electro enthusiasts Holy Ghost! picked up Chromeo’s slack on their urbane, synthfunk-driven 2011 self-titled debut. On their second full-length, Dynamics, the duo — comprised of two life-long friends and musical collaborators, Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser — amplify their pop tendencies and diversify their sound. Although tunes such as “Bridge and Tunnel” and “It Must Be the Weather” conjure the first album’s smoldering nightlife vibe, Dynamics expands to encompass sugary new wave (the Yaz-like “Okay”), chugging synthpop (the sparkling “Changing Of The Guard”), New Order-style electropop (the uplifting “Don’t Look Down”) and ’80s R&B slow jams (“In The Red”). The dancefloor igniter “Dumb Disco Ideas,” which features backing vocals from LCD Soundsystem’s Nancy Whang, is their most ambitious yet: Over eight minutes, the tune boogies through corrugated funk grooves, cosmic keyboard programming, cowbell-aided rhythms and heavenly falsetto. Holy Ghost! has always created dance music with aspirations to be taken seriously outside of clubs or parties. Thanks to finely sculpted hooks, straightforward melodies and Frankel’s increasingly confident vocals, Dynamics reaches — and exceeds—this goal.
