Review Summary: After leaving A Skylit Drive, Jordan Blake returns with an ambitious new project, and one that he pulls off especially well, at that.
When one thinks of the band A Skylit Drive, the usual comments include something along the lines of "They were better with Jordan." This is probably a statement of fact, but once i heard of Blake's new band, Watchout! There's Ghosts, i was certainly intrigued. After listening to them, intrigue turned into fascination.
Far from the generic pop-punk-screamo-scene-tightpants-core of ASD, Watchout! There's Ghosts plays a straight up pop brand of music laced with the occasional scream for good measure. As a fan of mainly metal and grindcore, i expected to thoroughly hate this, but due to Blake's presence, i decided to give it a chance.
The CD begins with "I'll Take Famous Murders For 500." This is a fairly straightforward song that meshes synthesizers with Blake's rather high vocals. The only reason it's so entertaining is because the music is of extremely high caliber for the genre, and Blake can handle falsetto singing like most can't. The next song is a true winner, entitled "Never You," it kicks off with a staggering guitar riff and then a surprisingly good scream breaks into the mix before flowing into the all-out pop style that is so stylistically done here, that you won't be able to restrain yourself from singing along.
"The Shake-Up" is one of the more well known W!TG songs, and rightfully so, with its heavy bass loop and extremely enjoyable lyrics. But it pales in comparison to what comes up in the next few songs. "I Ruin Dreams, Not Nightmares" is a great song simply because of the lyrics and well placed screams, not to mention, just like every other song on the album, the background music is truly enjoyable. "Makin' Moves" could be described as the album's low point, as it somewhat meshes in with the rest of the songs and has no stand-out moments, but is followed by my personal favorite track. "A Beautiful Goodbye" begins with the sound of a cigarette being lit and is layered with an eerie vocal sample, and then breaks out into a needling synth line, and Blake takes control of the song with his best vocals yet. All of this leads up to quite possibly the most addicting chorus i have ever heard, in any genre.
The next three tracks go by in familiar form, with the same qualities ive gushed over already, and leads to the album's other highlight next to "A Beautiful Goodbye." The nearly 7-minute long album closer "Remember Me, Oh God, For Good" is a ballad-like song that puts the focus on the vocals, and Blake handles this with great skill and range, showcasing just how talented he is. After building up for a few minutes, the song reaches its peak before fading off for the last minute with quiet and serene synthesized noise. It leaves the listener with the sense that for a debut album, Ghost Town feels very complete.
If you are a fan of pop/dance music, want to see what has become of Jordan Blake, or even felt a tinge of hope that first time you heard Breathe Carolina, but were sorely let down once you realized that their schtick was covering themselves in rainbow paint and taking aw3s0m3 myspace pics, then Watchout! There's Ghosts might be what you should be listening to.
