1. Phantastes
2. The Royal Court
3. Loudest Speaker
4. Magick Words
5. Sleepwalkers
6. Potions
7. On the Shore
8. Mazes and Monsters
9. Put Yr Boots On!
The Sunset Rubdown-esque cut—entitled "Phantastes"—coils labyrinthine keyboards, synths and a circular guitar riff around a rushing drum kit. Then the fivesome shoots it all skyward with some NES-like bravado
The songs became a structure like a building that builds itself rather than machines and workers in hard hats. Construction and deconstruction, insulation made out of guitar distortion that'll make you think Minus the Bear in a T-minus four-minute song like "Loudest Speaker." Watching the musical refrains move together, as if becoming cognizant of each other, was entirely an auditory sensation. When these guys play it seems they are aware of each other in that way in which you are aware someone is in your house even if they are in the other room.
The insistent, surging sound of this Portland quintet is one that, throughout their new album No Magic, will not let up. It may flatten out in long vistas, but otherwise it is nothing but peaks, each one more monumental than the one before.
Poppy, but not in the conventional way. No Magic is a cross between late-90s indie rock and a less expansive Arcade Fire. While the Ghosts are a bit more rhythmically jerky and less quirky than the Canadians, there’s a similar looseness and use of snatches of violin and other sounds to counterbalance the traditional rock. Yet, there’s also a lightness in tone to the record. It could have easily slid into a silly place given some of the subject matter, but is at once playful and muscular.
World's Greatest Ghost's sound is euphoric while at the same time inflated with antagonism. A few of their tracks like "Loudest Speaker", "The Royal Court", and "Potions" have that Islands quality of "yeah you thought this was a happy song, but guess what, it's kind of gloomy". Their music dwells in a place where lyrics and music work in opposition to create another layer, another way to process the familiar. This contradiction manifests itself in other aspects of their work as well. Many of their tracks are filled with visions of monsters ("Mazes and Monsters"), magic potions, and kings and queens, but instead of romanticizing the mundane with whimsy, The World's Greatest Ghosts seems to ground these fantasies with realities of fear, mortality, truth, personal responsibility, self-fulfillment, and joy. Overall it's a pretty successful device.
No Magic is the best Portland rock record since the Thermals’ The Body, the Blood, the Machine, and I’m ready to stand behind it...That’s the great thing about WGG—they transport you to a place where everything is right, where all your worries go away, and, for nearly four minutes, to a fantasy world where everyone is as weird and spazzy as you are. Yeah, I want to go to there.
It's a recipe for certain disaster: a five-member band that includes three songwriters—two of whom are brothers, one of which is married to the bass player. But World's Greatest Ghosts have made the closeness of their relationships work for them; the strength of their music comes from its interlocking, familial parts. Their tautly satisfying debut full-length, No Magic, is led by the intertwined guitars of Casey and Anderson, the sound is state-of-the-art 21st-century indie rock, incorporating peppy, jumping-bean beats with vintage synth sounds and Dungeons & Dragons-influenced lyrics.
Let's face it, Portland is the indie-mecca of the world. You may be thinking that it's Brooklyn at this point, but you're wrong: Brooklyn is the experimental/hipster capital of the world... Now that we have that straightened out, Portland based World's Greatest Ghosts have the makings of the next indie-pop stars. The sound is a little bit of synth, a little bit of pop, and a twinge of something familiar. That familiar feel just may be what makes the group stand out to me. And don't let the pop-label turn you off; it's not in the conventional sense of the word. The Portland-quintet achieves the indie-pop sound via impressive limitization. The songs feel as though they are often times heading in the direction of Arcade Fire, but the band's ability to hold back is what gives them such a unique sound.
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World's Greatest Ghosts is one of Portland's best kept secrets that should get some light shined on them with their catchy full length debut No Magic. The five member group has a cohesion that extends beyond being in a band as two of them are brothers, one of which is married to the bass player. This probably helps the records flow because WGG have three songwriters in the mix but you would never know it from listening because the transitions are smooth from track to track. The groups approach is somewhat simple as they rock out with guitars, drums and synthesizers but their feverish and energetic attack is what makes No Magic an appealing listen.
No Magic is a refreshing return to raucousness. It’s indie-spazz rock in rapid-fire common time. The upbeat, energetic rhythms are made for dancing with your arms flailing wildly like Elwood Blues doing the “running man”. Sing-along melodies standout from start to finish, and you can just picture a guy doing a handstand on a Moog while the guitarist repeatedly scissor kicks. Reggie and the Full Effect will be jealous of the warm, playful synths on tracks like “Mazes and Monsters,” “The Royal Court” and “On the Shore”... No Magic is an album for anyone who just wants music to be fun again.
Infectious. It’s clean, catchy, upbeat dance rock with a post-punk beat, calling to mind acts like Bloc Party and The Rapture, but with a firm pop sheen reminiscent of Wolf Parade. World’s Greatest Ghosts have concocted a rather faithful and engaging take on this oft-decried and overplayed genre.
This Portland band’s music is frequently exuberant — driving explosions of color and magick (as they’d say). It’s another case of rock n’ roll as family, and World’s Greatest Ghosts render it beautifully.
No Magic features some ace work from a group of folks I consider to be a staple in the Portland music community. Their music is balanced, showcasing each layer of the songs in a way that compliments rather than overwhelms. Nothing is lost as it progresses and it’s easy to pick out the talent that each member is clearly sporting. In addition to playing well, the group has a knack for putting together catchy, danceable pop-rock with hooks that will run through your head a hundred times in one day without getting boring. No Magic is actually all-magic and proves that the group can hold it’s own amidst the local pop-rockers.
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