Review of Damon & Naomi with Ghost When I first saw this CD, I thought the phrase "With
Ghost" was its title. It seemed a play on words, a reference perhaps
to the somewhat archaic phrase "with child" designating pregnancy, and
implied a morbid sort of intimation that we are all, all of us, "with
ghost," bearing death inside us. (Apparently, I need to lay off the
Bergman movies just before bedtime...)
Instead, the phrase turns out to be literal and a reference to the
Japanese acid-folk band Ghost, who accompany Damon & Naomi on this
release. Their presence blends subtly with Damon & Naomi's typical
sound, a delicate mesh of acoustic and electric guitars, a diverse
array of keyboard embellishments, and Naomi Yang's distinctively
melodic, arching basslines. "The Great Wall" provides a typical
example: there's no bass at all until a minute into the track, and
then when the chorus comes in, Yang plays a high-register
countermelody to complement the vocal line rather than the more
obvious thumping chord-root notes. Damon Krukowski continues with the
spare, minimalist drumming that made Galaxie 500 so distinct, taking
full advantage of the interplay between sound and silence. Ghost's
presence is most obvious in the chanting and percussion on "The New
World" and in the slow-burning guitar fuse that lights up the eight-
plus minutes of "Tanka" (and perhaps in that song's title, which
refers to a Japanese verse form). The combination of the two acts
works well, and "Tanka" is a high point. It begins with acoustic
guitar and piano and double-tracked vocals from Yang, builds through
Krukowski's increasingly assertive drumming and Yang's surefooted
bass-playing into a crescendoing volley of pungently distorted guitars
in a nearly Television-like display of architectonic structural
development.
Other highlights include the yearning falsetto chorus and mellotron
backdrop of "The Mirror Phase" and a gorgeous cover of Big Star's
"Blue Moon," whose haunting mood of resigned despair colors much of
this CD--perhaps making the CD's title more apt than mere description.
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