Ghostland Observatory
Robotique Majestique
Release Date: Mar 4, 2008
Genre(s): Indie, Rock, Electronic
Record label: Trashy Moped
Music Critic Score
How the Music Critic Score works
Album Review: Robotique Majestique by Ghostland Observatory
Very Good, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 7.0/10
Mastered by Nilesh Patel (Daft Punk, Depeche Mode), Robotique Majestique has the Austin-based Ghostland Observatory throwing down a solid, synth-heavy version of their stateside electro-punk, making their third release less guitar influenced than the occasional rock moments of Paparazzi Lightning (the duo's 2006 debut) and 2007's Delete. Delete. I. Eat.
Opinion: Excellent
Destroyer With his fey voice and acoustic guitar, the songwriter Dan Bejar, who records as Destroyer when he’s not with the New Pornographers or his other projects, might have been perfectly suited for a career in pretty soft rock, mid-1970s style. The beginning of Destroyer’s eighth album, .
Opinion: Very Good
Since GLO's breakthrough at the 2006 Austin City Limits Music Festival, the local duo has struggled to top its electroclash charades. Their solution? Lasers. On Ghostland's third self-produced LP, Robotique Majestique, mastered at the Exchange in London by Nilesh Patel (Daft Punk, Justice), that strategy largely translates into massive, Technicolor electronic interludes delving deep into Depeche Mode.
Opinion: Fairly Good
Three albums into their career, Austin's Ghostland Observatory still have to take more than their share of comparisons to Daft Punk -- so much so that from the title on down, Robotique Majestique pretty much drops the pretense that the French duo isn't a direct influence. Singer Aaron Behrens' guitar, previously Ghostland Observatory's most musically unique element, is notable in its absence, leaving multi-instrumentalist producer Thomas Turner's undeniably Daft Punk-influenced synths and beats the only counterpoint to Behrens' squalling vocals. On songs like "No Place for Me" and "Dancing on My Grave," what results is a peculiar mashup of electronic dance-funk tunes and '80s hair metal vocals, a strange but unexpectedly compelling blend of two retro fashion statements that one would never expect to work as well together as they do.