Album Review: Holy Ghost! - Holy Ghost!

The self-titled debut LP from NYC production duo Holy Ghost! has been a long time coming. Nick Millhiser and Alex Frankel released their first single, ‘Hold On’, way back in 2007. The tune quickly became a familiar sound in discerning electro clubs across the globe, but since then original tracks have been few and far between. Instead, the pair have mostly been busy remixing, remastering and reimagining tracks by the likes of Friendly Fires and MGMT for various compilations and b-sides.
 
Much of this delay has likely been down to Holy Ghost! having pretty sizeable shoes to fill. Friends since childhood, Millhiser and Frankel are signed to DFA, the label of James Murphy – now ex-LCD Soundsystem – and their penchant for analogue synths makes comparisons with their fellow New Yorkers somewhat unavoidable.
 
Lofty expectations or not, Holy Ghost! certainly starts promisingly. ‘Do It Again’ is a thumping, fresh and exciting stab of electro, its simple, slow drumbeat mixed under layers of synth that smile appreciatively at The Human League. Nothing too complicated, in other words. The Murphy influence is present for all to hear – Holy Ghost! fully embrace '80s electropop, but on this opening track they manage to give it a modern kick.
 
The wobbly electronic intro to the teasingly-titled 'Wait and See' could be lifted from any cult '80s sci-fi film, but the track has a light, soothing feel – a far cry from the album's breathless opening salvo. Alas, as the tune progresses it seems to lack any real development; there's no big catch or hook for the listener to grab on to, and as a result it runs flatly along, never quite grabbing the attention, but never particularly offending. Unfortunately, ‘Hold My Breath’ proves to be another track whose title flatters to deceive, and it carries on this trend of simmering hope followed by mild disappointment. The duo have clearly fallen well short of replicating the James Murphy formula that created Sound Of Silver. Instead of building on an excellent opener, they've drifted off before the album is even half-way through.
 
That's not to say there aren’t a few other decent tracks, however. The instantly accessible ‘Jam for Jerry’ walks the fine line between familiarity and pastiche with aplomb, suggesting that Holy Ghost! are much better at taking the sounds of others and twisting them to suit their needs, rather than starting from scratch and coming up short.
 
As debuts go, then, this is not a 'bad' album per se; it just passes by all too easily. Far from being invasive or unpleasant, Millhiser and Frankel simply lack the dynamism of their labelmates. Maybe those LCD disco boots were a bit too big to fill after all.