This is a very cool album, though it gets a bit samey towards the end.
Ghost Culture is electronic musician James Greenwood and one of label Phantasy Sound’s newer signings; he’s had help from Erol Alkan and Daniel Avery making this.
It opens with the nice Avery throb of Mouth, the minimalistic sound being reminiscent of Junior Boys, and Greenwood has a pleasant, warming voice. It’s a bit livelier than Junior Boys, edging towards the electronic pop of Cut Copy. Track two Giudecca is similar, both smooth and slow electronic pop.
The more uptempo Arms is somewhere between Cut Copy and New Order, the wonky synth sound showing a Metronomy influence, while Arms goes back to minimalism. Glass is back to New Order-ish.
In the second half it all gets a bit of a muchness: there’s not a lot of variation, though standalone tracks like Lucky and Answer — which is almost a dance record — are still good.
Not much to say: if you like chill-out tunes, Junior Boys or Cut Copy, it’s going to float your boat to some degree. Could be a grower.