One of those bands with sarcastic literate lyrics that has one foot firmly planted in that post-Pavement slacker rock, and maybe that other foot is somewhere close to anti-folk- those observational stories that can be sung.
But with deadpan vocals, witty lyrics and ukulele in tow, I can’t help but make some mention of Magnetic Fields. (Last FM’s “Similar Artists” page does little to shine some light on this topic except they are obviously Canadian).
I don’t know that the band is named for the oddball REM song off Dead Letter Office, but it seems appropriate. The band’s most famous song is one called “F—- the Government. I Love You”
Ghost Palace brings the science fiction with “Luna FM” (a breezy melody hides lyrics about a moon based Deejay who is forced to keep playing “Space Truckin’” and “Planet Clare”) but also more mundane topics like “Bottle of Chianti, Cheese and the Charcuterie Board” which hides divorce and death among its seductive lines.
“The Summer Olympics” is surely one of the great songs of the year. As with so much of this album, there is a sense of impending doom hidden by a sense of blasé. Life is a resort but the only things you can get is “Brazil Nuts and Blue Caracao” on that same titled track. We can be famous but only when we are “Celebrities in Cemeteries” as we join Gram Parsons, Oscar Wilde and Jim Morrison in the opening track.
“The Birds of Australia” in a The Far Side style scenario are singing sweetly while wishing our death.
Although ostensibly a project for Mathais Kom, like Merritt, it’s best when he shares vocals with band member Ariel Sharratt, who at various times provides drums, bass and woodwinds. I have only sampled the band’s previous output in bits and pieces so I don’t know how this album ranks in comparison but on its own, it’s a quite enjoyable listen.
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