In Ghost Colours

Cut Copy | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 8, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Modular Interscope
• ASIN: B0014FCRWE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,817 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #33 in Music > World Music > Australia & New Zealand

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk

Far more fun than the eighties actually were at the time, the second album from Melbourne’s Cut Copy, In Ghost Colours, is one of the slickest and most varied reinterpretations of the era to appear in the last five years. Selective nostalgia means that every sound from the past is open to reappraisal and Cut Copy have moved on from the sometimes slavish devotion to New Order that dominated their first album, 2004’s enjoyably familiar Bright Like Neon Love. By comparison In Ghost Colours is nearer to the dense pop of Electronic, Johnny Marr and Bernard Sumner’s often overlooked collaboration, especially the brash, acoustic guitar driven opener "Feel The Love" and the brash "Lights and Music". But on tunes like the lush "Hearts On Fire" and the more abrasive "So Haunted", Dan Whitford and crew also nod to the experimental pop of the Cure and Depeche Mode and the now familiar sonic attack that My Bloody Valentine originated (and Snow Patrol eventually turned into pop). Less obviously, late period ELO, increasingly adored by studio heads, prove to be an influence. The producer here is none other than DFA’s Tim Goldsworthy, and though Cut Copy are far from the bittersweet hedonism of his other recent clients Hercules And Love Affair, In Ghost Colours works both as contemporary dance-rock and, edited without gaps, as a complete album.--Steve Jelbert

Product Description

Cut copy are set to return in 2008 with the shimmering timelessness of 'in ghost colours'. Haunted with machines of the past and sounds of the future, 'in ghost colours' inhabits the kind of space in time where trends are irrelevant and music is about feeling rather than following and 1969 is just as relevant as 2020. At once both jacking and jangly, electronic and organic, cut copy have crafted a record filled with glorious sounds and moods but also unabashedly pop song structures and hooks and melodies for eons. The progression from 'bright like neon love' to 'in ghost colours' is brazenly apparent from opening track 'feel the love', an acoustic guitar led stomp of a space rock tune, instantly unforgettable and with recognizable cut copy sheen. Where 'bright like neon love' was charmingly vague and hazy, 'in ghost colours' is to the point and efficient in it's songcraft, with vocals much more apparent and whitford's imprint all over every track. The record is sewn together with passages of woozy dreamscapes between the straight out jams.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Things tighten up on their sophomore LP, with a little help from an LCD., April 8, 2008

By 

Doctor Trance (MA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: In Ghost Colours (Audio CD)

Bright Like Neon Love came out 4 years ago and was an excellent debut album from this Aussie electro indie band. I liked it a lot, but couldn't helped thinking when listening to it, that it was on the cusp of something grand, where maybe not even the band realized how close they were to pushing up and over that edge. Album co-producer and LCD Soundsystem member Tim Goldsworthy may have been just the extra touch they needed to push this exciting band to the upper realms of electronic indie land.

The songs really tighten up and there are a lot more lyrics and vocal tracks than their debut LP. It also clocks in at over 50 minutes, while Bright Like Neon Love was under 43 minutes. Gone are some of the elongated electro instrumentation with a few strips of interlaced vocals found on Bright Like Neon Love. These songs are much more pop aligned, and judging by the strength of some of them, enough to extend their listening audience to an even broader range.

There's a treasure trove of catchy tunes, including the opener, Feel The Love, the progressive rocker So Haunted, and the unexpected leftfield turn when the chorus kicks in during Lights and Music. 80's backing electronica is again the theme, especially on Far Away, where you could have placed it onto any new wave, synth-pop album between 1984 and 1987 and no one would have even noticed. The dreamy interludes are a nice touch, as they glide and connect us through 15 tracks without a bad hitch at any of the stops along the way.

Harmonious from top to bottom and very well produced, this 2nd album is one of the best examples of how talented, non-mainstream, electronic artists can really be. I wish the band much success, and let this highly recommended album do the rest.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Evolution means change, not improvement, April 27, 2008

By 

J. R. Boress - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Ghost Colours (Audio CD)

It seems like most other reviewers are applauding this album for having more lyrics, stronger pop sensibilities, and for sounding more like New Order in their heyday. I'm going to buck the trend just a bit to say that you might be put off a little bit if you were hoping for a more faithful follow-up from Cut Copy's debut album.

Yes, lyrics and vocals on "Bright Like Neon Love" - the debut - were sparse and repetitive. In that way, the debut album was similar to some of Daft Punk's work. I loved the debut album for its grooves, sounds, and the feelings it evoked. Lyrics and vocals were not the selling point, for me.

While there is some carry-over in format as far as groove and instrumentation from the debut to "In Ghost Colours," the songs on this latest release conform more to a verse-chorus-verse structure. And although the amount of vocals and lyrics have been doubled, I wouldn't necessarily say that they've doubled in profundity or quality.

So what are we left with? "In Ghost Colours" is an enjoyable album that should still hold a strong appeal for fans of artists such as Daft Punk, Cassius, and Datarock. At the same time, Cut Copy has definitely moved further into classic New Wave territory.

Evolution refers to a change over time. Some people confuse that with progression, or improvement. In this case, I can't really say that I think Cut Copy has improved, but they have changed. The quality of "In Ghost Colours" rivals and in some ways surpasses "Bright Like Neon Love." However, comparing the two is - to use a cliche - a bit like comparing apples and oranges. They're different, but hey, they're both fruit.

In conclusion, I'm giving this album 4 stars out of 5 because I personally and subjectively found the shift in format to be a little off-putting. I will have to look to other artists for music that is in the same vein to Cut Copy's debut release, "Bright Like Neon Love." On the other hand, my wife and I are enjoying this album and I expect that it will grow on me more. Pound-for-pound, the cuts on this album are probably technically better "songs" than the tracks from the debut. So please don't let my words discourage you from picking up either this or the original. I could say more positive things about "In Ghost Colours" but I feel other reviewers have done well enough at that.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Prepare to be assimilated!, May 31, 2008

By 

R. E. Smith (Sarasota, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Ghost Colours (Audio CD)

Track 1 `Feel the Love' starts off mid beat, a feature which foreshadows this indie-pop trios avante-guard style. This kick start allows them to develop the wispy and synthetic sound effects so that by 60 seconds into "In Ghost Colours" you're already in the middle of a pop song. If you like the faraway, deep but nasally sounding vocals of Peter Bjorn & John, then you'll enjoy the style of Dan Whitford on this album.

If I had been a consumer of more 80's music, I could probably drop a lot of references, but alas, I thought most of it was crap when I was listening to grunge and industrial rock. However if you are a fan of that era, this album is definitely for you, and by the end of the second track, you'll forget this is a new album. Because where `Feel the Love' starts off feeling 80's wannabe, by `Lights and Music' it's 100% 80's - samples, electro bass-funk, winding keyboards, and all! Robotic vocals atop synth keys really do create that 80's environment. If I didn't know better, I'd swear they somehow slipped in the soundtrack to the arcade version of Ninja Gaiden. Somehow they pull it off with a modern feel though, because it's catchy, not annoying and cliché. At times sounding a bit like PB&J, and others like Robert Smith meets Julian Casablancas, they span the genre fairly well with this accessible release.

They seem to use the short tracks `We Fight For Diamonds' and `Voice in Quartz' as ambient interludes. Transitioning styles between the indie-pop feel and the 80's flashback.

Many folks reference Daft Punk when talking about this band, but that's a mistake. The heavy handed hardcore electronic beats Daft Punk is known for are substituted here with pop-riffs and soft-tronica. Again, an underground 80's reference would be handy here, please refer to paragraph 2.

Standout tracks are `Lights and Music' for it's authentic 80's happy groove and 'Strangers In The Wind' for it's uniqueness, busting out the Moody Blues' slide guitar. If you want to cut to the chase and see what you're in for with this album, listen to the first 20 seconds of `Far Away' it's a microcosm of the aftertaste given to us by Cut Copy.

I'm rating this 3.5 stars, but giving it the benefit of the doubt!

-thanks for reading!-