Mother Ghost broadcast on their own unique frequency with their new single and video Radio Fantasma — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
The title track from their upcoming album due out Friday, Radio Fantasma finds Houston brothers Oscar and Thomas Flores continuing to experiment with genres while pushing musical boundaries, finding a sweet spot between post-punk, disco-funk, pop and indie-rock. Meanwhile, the audacious video that accompanies the song features a pair of masked wrestlers in pursuit of aliens — at least until the pizza arrives and everybody gets down to the band.
“Radio Fantasma is about the anxieties of everyday life and the things that help us get through to the next day,” they say of the album as a whole. “Most of the lyrics on the album come from our personal life, a news story, or social grievance.”
The heat of those personal experiences and social grievances really comes through on the album, with both brothers leaning into their punk anger. Radio Fantasma confronts themes of police brutality, class division, yearning for family, and more. Thomas’s Peter Hook-like bass is more punishing and menacing than ever before, and his synths follow suit. Oscar’s guitar work screams along with his vocals in many tracks like Negative Affirmations, Sunshine and Triton. Smoother, calmer work can be found here as well, such as in album opener Talk Slow, Con Colmillo and Every Day, but there’s also a smattering of classic post-punk on the title track and album closer Rat King.
Stuck at home writing during the early pandemic, the brothers Flores were happy (in retrospect) to have the time to explore new sounds; the time and care taken in the studio is obvious in the end product. The duo even made the decision to outsource production to fellow Geodesic Records artist aCr. “We have loved having the time to focus in the studio, allowing us to experiment and discover the right sound for each song,” they say.
No matter what the genre or sound the duo are exploring on Radio Fantasma, it’s clear Mother Ghost took the time to really develop the sound and the result is a wildly entertaining and musically varied offering. It’s creatively likely one of the most raw and honest post-punk albums of the year as well. It’s about time they came back and filled that gap.
Originally formed as a conventional three-piece punk band, Mother Ghost eventually became a duo after going through several drummers in a short period of time. This prompted them to pick up drum machines and sequencers, and allowed the band to explore different facets of their songwriting. They began merging the electrifying rhythms of late ’80s and early ’90s dance music with the driving riffs and experimental nature of modern-day post-punk. Songs are rewritten, rearranged and mutated until they find their perfect sequence.
Watch the video for Radio Fantasma above, hear more from Mother Ghost below, and find them on their website, Facebook and Instagram.
