Wednesday, May 2, 2012

CD Review: Dirty Ghosts - Metal Moon


Note: This review originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

There are darker edges lurking behind the alluring melodies and deep grooves on this debut from Dirty Ghosts. Founding member, vocalist-guitarist Allyson Baker, cut her teeth during Toronto’s hard core punk scene in the 1990’s, so while her latest songs have commercial potential, they’re far from mundane. Metal Moon is a successful experiment that frequently results in her band sounding like a more techno-oriented version of The Kills.

The catchy “Ropes That Way” and the 1980’s-influenced “Shout It In” are the CD’s best bets for radio airplay, while “Steamboat To Concord” is set to a sparse hip hop arrangement with heavy bass guitar and distorted sound bites. Dirty Ghosts are unstoppable once they cut loose on high-powered  tracks like “Katana Rock” and “Pretty Face,” but still manage to blend in more nuanced elements. Reportedly, this is the first time Baker has sung lead vocals in her lengthy career, but she certainly got it right on Metal Moon.

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