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By: Jake Krolick
Ghostland Observatory's third album, Robotique Majestique (Trashy Moped) picks up almost where the first and second left off. Like two deviants tinkering with prosthetic limbs, Aaron Behrens and Thomas Ross Turner chop their latest post-apocalyptic sounds into a less rock-oriented and more electronic-driven direction.
After enjoying both Paparazzi Lightning and delete.delete.I.eat.meat, the third album falls short of the hook and punch of earlier songs like "Silver City" and "Ghetto Magnet." Many of their harsh punk flourishes have slipped into oblivion as Turner and Behrens stray away from the sounds of David Bowie and embrace their Daft Punk sides. Still, sitting deep in the twisted electronic rubble are a few gems that make the album spin worthy. The third track "No Place for Me" explores time and space like Delia Ann Derbyshire did with her classic electronic realization of the Dr. Who theme. Turner's very Doctor-esque synthesizer pulses meets Behrens' best screams to form the highlight of the album, "Dancing on my Grave," the Trashy Moped answer to Tina Turner's punk glam of the 1980's Beyond Thunderdome. Behrens and Turner slow things to a mysterious crawl as the battle for Thunderdome rages on with the subtle projection and flow of synthesizer and drum. The title track to Robotique Majestique snuggles up against the throwback to the early '80s and continues to pull you deeper into the electronic shuffle as it deconstructs into a universe of orbital noise. The wild orgy that is "HFM" could easily have been a Cansei de Ser Sexy tune sped-up well past acceptable RPM's and then poured through a series of noise inducing filters. The result is a controlled version of chaos that makes you shake.
This Austin duo have beefed up their stage show and rock the party live, but after two excellent offerings this third has slipped. The album will most likely wind up being spun only late night or when robots take over the world and need a soundtrack for dominance over humankind.
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