By: Ross Edwards
Rating: 6/11

“Pet Ghost Project,” a one-man band turned three-man band, is less on the electronic side of things and far more into indie-punk. Their mostly instrumental songs epically swell toward layered climaxes of boxed-up guitars and dried-up drums. The non-sustained, riff-based songwriting seems like a trick, however, and one that runs out its welcome after a few songs. The trick is creating cool soundscapes out of layering guitars, introducing a riff and then meshing part upon part for development. But on tracks like “Power Symbol,” the lack of melodic interest and repetition becomes stagnant quickly. There is little musical tension, so most of the layers can do little but build up the listener’s sense of the song not going anywhere. 

The two songs from the album Idiot brain/genius heart (called “Wires from the Ceiling” and “Short Name”) are more interesting, partly because they have vocal melodies (the singer sounding Death Cab For Cutie-like). There is a cool moment of airy lightness halfway through “Wires from the Ceiling,” with spoken word about disasters, and a great mix of acoustic and electric guitars, keyboard, and vocal harmony. “Age of Automatics” is the angry sort of garage rock (with automated clangs) that is reminiscent of early Modest Mouse, but without much development beyond the initial information. “Producing Emotions” is another great vocal melody to cling to, and “Encore” is a lo-fi banquet of interlaced guitars, ending with a larger than life intensity.

“Pet Ghost Project” does what all other great bands do, using sounds like personalities and trying to get a combo that works. But they just aren’t as interesting as many other indie bands of our day — they lack an experimental edge, catchy melodies, a compelling group personality, and any sort of useful tension.