Ghostland Observatory - Codename Rondo

[Music Head]

Certainly not my thing but you danceclubaholics might like it.

Grade - 1.1

released Oct 26th, 2010



from the album - Glitter - grade 1.0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ5xy62_qBU

from allmusic

Bio

Mashing together electro, rock, and funk and taking cues from such artists as Daft Punk and Prince, Ghostland Observatory formed in Austin, TX, and consists of vocalist/guitarist Aaron Behrens and producer/beat-maker Thomas Turner. The duo played its first show July 4, 2004, and the following year put out its debut, delete.delete.i.eat.meat. Paparazzi Lightning quickly followed in January 2006.

Album Review from austin 360

“Codename: Rondo” has a promising enough start. Sure, “Glitter” doesn’t find Ghostland Observatory falsetto freakout specialist Aaron Behrens anywhere near as scorching as he was on “Paparazzi Lighting” opener “Piano Man,” but Thomas Turner’s minimalist electronic beat is groovy enough. The guitar is solid, and “Glitter” is a huge step up over the misguided instrumental opener of 2008’s somewhat overly maligned “Robotique Majestique.”
But with second track “That’s Right,” “Codename: Rondo” rapidly loses steam and never quite recovers. Over an anonymous beat and a generic guitar solo, “That’s Right” spotlights a heavily processed robo-voice, a stylistic choice that — when your singer is capable of hitting the electrifying highs of Behrens — seems like making a Superman movie where the hero never flies.
Unfortunately, that’s a recurring problem on “Codename: Rondo.” While Ghostland Observatory still has the chops and energy that made “Paparazzi Lightning” such a charmer, a sort of blue-collar Daft Punk fronted by Freddie Mercury, the band spends much of its fourth full-length album misallocating its resources. Turner’s beats lack propulsion and Behrens never quite cuts loose, resulting in an album that feels undercooked, a distinctly unsatisfying appetizer for the main course that is the duo’s live show.
“Body Shop” and closer “Kick Clap Speaker” — the latter evoking the Macintosh SimpleText voice made famous by Radiohead’s “Fitter Happier” — make much the same mistake of underutilizing Behrens, while even the tracks where he wisely takes center stage feel limp in comparison with the band’s better songs. “Miracles” isn’t quite as cornball as the Insane Clown Posse viral sensation of the same name, but it’s close, and the spoken-word title track is a goofy experiment that doesn’t pay off.
Of course, Ghostland Observatory is a live band first and foremost, and doubtless many of these songs will entertain when backed with the band’s tour-de-force concert presence. It’s not hard to imagine a crowd of thousands dancing to the catchy-if-cheesy “Give Me the Beat” — wherein Behrens posits the beat as his anti-drug, anti-theft and anti-prostitution. And “Codename: Rondo” has moments of intrigue, like the New Wave pop excursion of “Time” and the spacey depths of “Mama.”
Unfortunately, they’re too little and too late to keep “Codename: Rondo” from being more than an intermittently interesting misfire.

Track Listing

1 Glitter Ghostland Observatory 3:08
2 That's Right Ghostland Observatory 2:32
3 Miracles Ghostland Observatory 2:56
4 Codename: Rondo Ghostland Observatory 4:16
5 Give Me the Beat Ghostland Observatory 3:29
6 Body Shop Ghostland Observatory 3:33
7 Freeze Ghostland Observatory 2:42
8 Time Ghostland Observatory 3:07
9 Mama Ghostland Observatory 3:31
10 Kick Clap Speaker Ghostland Observatory 4:51

[ashleywatson]

Thanks for the great tracks.... i like Codename: Rondo Ghostland Observatory most...nice listing... I think you should promote your tracks online....you can take the help of music promoters.