Blending strobe-lit, early 90s synths with glitchy strippercore dance pop, the music of Tempe's Ghouliez reexamines the glittery darkness of electroclash from a new perspective. At first listen Ghouliez resembles the lovechild of early Adult (band) and an easy-going, post-lobotomy Venetian Snares (band). But there's more than just glitch and restlessness... They make use of robotic vocals -- which at moments sound terrified and lethargic -- as well as repetitive but never redundant, hardhitting, computer-assisted beats.
If strobe lights or dance floors had tongues enough to talk they would speak with the same medical equipment beep droll and Atari blips and bleeps as the seven minute song, "Drown'n N Bits": the melody haunts
the speakers with the eeriness of Angelo Badalamenti had he foregone scoring Lynch films and instead become an LSD-crazed German DJ in the golden age of techno. The crowdpleaser, "Hex On Your Deks," embodies Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round" with a splash of Digitalism (band).
Whether instrumental or vocal, Ghouliez refuse to be pigeonholed into a single genre. In addition to feelings of fear and thoughtfulness they at once invoke arm pumping and groin thrusts. Ghouliez reinvents dance music upon a fresh foundation. By combining early electro remembrances with contemporary popular trends Ghouliez is sure to please even the snobbiest electroclash fans. If you plan to attend one of the many upcoming shows, be prepared to smash something as the music overtakes your cerebral cortex and leaves you a slave to the beat.
