Warm Ghost: Goth is Un-Dead

It was about this time last year that the Goth phase began its renaissance. The once colorful city ofManhattantook on a dark suiting of black. It was drapey. It was moody. It led to a ton of unfortunate "synth-wave." Siouxsie and the Banshees' "Dazzle," headlining a number of fashion industry friendly shows, definitely hadsomethingto do with it. God bless Siouxsie's soul, she's a phenomenal musician, but I think she probably hangs her head in shame for her present day offspring. Skinny little things with cross earrings and long mangled hair, plucking strings with their skeleton fingers. Note: It ain't enough to look the part; you gotta play the tunes too.

Needless to say, I'd just about given up on the whole gothic music wave. Crosses overproduced their latest EP, so it sounds like a mix between Bauhaus and Silverchair's newer stuff (boo). Regal Degal can't perform live. And everyone else just mumbles. But bumming around Kim's on Seventh Street last night, the CD playing over the speakers caught my attention. I asked the clerk who it was and he shrugged. So I figured, alright, another band I'll never hear again. But then the next song came on? And it was just as good, if not better than the first. I insisted that the clerk figure out who it was. After a brief investigation, I was introduced to Warm Ghost and theiralbumNarrows. I've been listening to the CD on repeat ever since, and I have to admit, it keeps getting better.

Lucky for us, the band is based out ofBrooklyn. Evenluckierfor us, they're playing Glasslands Feb. 10. Paul Duncan and Daniel Lewis, the two scraggly haired gents that make up Warm Ghost, refer to it as "a band and multi media project." They've got the uneasy feel of Bauhaus, and the vocal angst of Joy Division. Tracks start out chaotic, like their opening "G.T.W.S." and transition into a melodic flow, easy for the 3 W's: working, walking or wanking. When working in electro-tense songs, such as "Once One," old school Junior Boys come to mind. They are genre-bending within a genre that doesn't see much daylight, and I expect bigger and darker things from them in the future. Until then, I'll keep it with the straight andNarrows.

For more info on the band check out their Tumblr athttp://warmghost.tumblr.com/. In the meantime, we'll be working on getting an interview from these boys.

Warm Ghost plays Glasslands Feb. 10. For tickets, clickhere.