The Holy Ghost! story begins in 2007 – when Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser, childhood friends and mutual lovers of dance beats, released a song that quickly became a dance classic, “Hold On.” It’s hard to believe it took them four years, but here we are in 2011, and the dance duo is finally releasing their self-titled debut album. No surprise they’re releasing it on their good friend James Murphy‘s DFA Records. Actually, you can trace James Murphy‘s influence in this first release of Holy Ghost!‘s: Murphy asked Frankel and Millhiser to tour with LCD Soundsystem in 2010, which forced the duo out of their comfort zone (usually presiding over the decks at dance clubs as DJs, never playing live) to come up with a Holy Ghost! live show. Interview Magazine has called their sound, “Michael Jackson meetsNew Order at a 1979 disco.” Right up my alley.
Indeed, songs from their debut album are currently being played while the duo, with three additional musicians, are opening for Melbourne’s Cut Copy on their North American tour, now in progress. However, Frankel has said, “I didn’t want to limit myself to making an album that could only be played in clubs,” with Millhiser adding, “we were trying to make something that people would want to listen to, front and back, at home.” Their self-titled debut album is a testament that this can be done – and can be done well. Two of the 10 tracks on this effort (“Static on the Wire” and “Say My Name”) are from the band’s Static on the Wire EP released last year, and the aforementioned “Hold On” also figures on this album. All three are superb tracks; it’s not hard for me to imagine these being played for sweaty masses on a dance floor, albeit possibly in clubbier, more drawn-out versions.
But you’d be remiss to only focus on those tracks. The album opener, “Do It Again,” is mesmerizing, with its relentless driving rhythm and shimmery synths. “Wait and See,” which DFA is giving away as a free download on Soundcloud, is clear evidence of the band’s ’70s disco / ’80s new wave and electropop sensibilities. “Hold My Breath” is cut from a similar cloth. “Jam for Jerry” is an upbeat yet wistful tune, likely to be a loving homage to the late Jerry Fuchs, drummer of LCD Soundsystem and !!!, disguised as a dance love song.
The best track on here is “It’s Not Over” – here is where I’m guessing any New Order comparisons began. The synthesized bass line sounds like it was yesterday that Bernard Sumner was surreptitiously pushing Peter Hook out of the band with programming, only that with Alex Frankel’s soulful vocal delivery and tribal drum patterns, it’s something very unique that you won’t quickly forget. As a dance record, Holy Ghost! is not in your face, and that’s a good thing. Most dance recordings are overproduced, overwrought jumbles of sound with no direction. This one hits all the right buttons.
Tracklisting
01. Do It Again
02. Wait and See
03. Hold My Breath
04. Say My Name
05. Jam for Jerry
06. Hold On
07. It’s Not Over
08. Slow Motion
09. Static on the Wire
10. Some Children
Holy Ghost!‘s self-titled debut album will be released on April 12 on DFA Records. The band is currently on tour as support for Cut Copy. The band will also make appearances this month at Coachella on April 15 and at a headlining gig at Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg on April 29.
Tour Dates
Apr 04 – House of Blues / Boston*
Apr 05 – Club Soda / Montreal*
Apr 06 – Terminal 5 / New York City*
Apr 07 – Sound Academy / Toronto*
Apr 08 – Riviera / Chicago*
Apr 09 – First Avenue / Minneapolis*
Apr 12 – Showbox SoDo / Seattle*
Apr 15 – Coachella / Indio, CA
Apr 16-17 – Grand Ballroom @ Regency / San Francisco*
Apr 20 – Granada Theater / Dallas*
Apr 22 – Stubbs / Austin*
Apr 23 – Republic / New Orleans*
Apr 29 – Music Hall of Williamsburg / Brooklyn*
*supporting Cut Copy
We at PopWreckoning know your wallet is hurting in these trying financial times. If you live in New York City, have we got a deal for you. DFA Records, the famed independent dance record label co-founded by James Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy, has joined forces with New York’s upscale Hudson Hotel for a special (and free!) dance party from 9 PM to 12 AM Wednesday nights. It all takes place in the hotel’s Private Park, where you will be surrounded by 45-foot trees and ivy-covered walls – a world away from the usual hubbub of busy, frenetic Midtown – where you can enjoy DJ sets from the DFA family.
Justin Miller, DJ Kaos, and Matt Cash are just some of the names who have been announced as guest DJs for the month of September. And on September 15, James Murphy himself will be spinning, along with “special guests” yet to be announced. Seeing that it’s James Murphy we’re talking about, it’s probably going to be some pretty big names. (For starters, I’m going to guess Tim Sweeney and Holy Ghost!) So if you’re in town, check it out. For more information on the schedule, visit DFA’s MySpace.
D.C. finally has a new, inviting dance club to call its own in the form of the U Street Music Hall. Just two blocks from the now world-famous Ben’s Chili Bowl, it has a façade so minimalist that you could completely miss it when you’re walking east on U Street unless you’re keeping your eyes peeled for it. This was the first show I’d ever seen there; the venue just opened on St. Patrick’s Day this year, with Belgian DJs/producers Aeroplane (known to me as the guys behind the popular remixes of Robbie Williams’ “Bodies” and Friendly Fires’ “Paris”) leading the welcome of the venue to our city. I was assured by the congenial doorman that the sound system was world-class (this makes sense, as five of the six owners of the place are DJs), the bartenders were nice (and that he was possibly the meanest person that worked there, which suggested the rest of the staff had to be super sweet), and the dance floor was reinforced with cork as to provide more support to dancegoers’ aching tootsies. All definite pluses.
Saturday night was the first Washington appearance of electronic dance duo Holy Ghost! Until last month, Holy Ghost! the live experience consisted of longtime friends Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser DJaying and spinning records. Holy Ghost! have just released an EP on DFA Records called Static on the Wire, and it’s their first official release despite having been together for a long while. Now after supporting their friends LCD Soundsystem on a North American tour, the two are on their first headlining tour of America with a three-member backing band. When the band was first booked for the Saturday night timeslot of 9 PM, I thought that had to be a misprint. But the venue’s website was clear on this, even encouraging everyone to show up early and not to miss the live set. Between the club and the band however, they made the smart decision to delay the set start until after 10 to allow for the club to fill up further.
Some guys up front at the show were definite diehards, yelling out “fuck yeah!” at the conclusion of each of the band’s numbers. “I Will Come Back,” the crown jewel of their recent EP, was a revelation live. It’s the audience participation, “raise your hands in the air like you just don’t care, and sway your arms from side to side” kind of song. Terribly difficult to write but somehow dance acts always know how to put these together perfectly, and Holy Ghost! is no exception. During the set, Frankel alternated between lead vocals, keyboards, and a percussion setup that looked especially impressive under U Hall’s lighting scheme, so when you watched him, it was like seeing a National Geographic time lapse film. Track “Static on the Wire” featured a drumming duel between Frankel and one of the backing band. Awesome.
And what is dance music without the mad beats? Nothing. Millhiser, wearing a t-shirt proclaiming “J DILLA CHANGED MY LIFE,” was inexhaustible on drums. I think it’s entirely possible that he could beat a drum machine in a face-off. At one point during new song “Slow Motion,” Frankel lost a drumstick and later another in the reckless revelry of hitting a tom. The devoted fans were also respectful, pushing the wayward drumsticks out of harm’s way (and out of the path of Frankel’s dancing feet), not shamelessly grabbing them as souvenirs as I’ve seen at other shows. When it came time for the band’s 2008 epic hit “Hold On,” bodies were bumping. Is the world ready for Holy Ghost! ? I think so.
Set List
Do It Again
It’s Not Over
Static on the Wire
Say My Name
Slow Motion
I Will Come Back
Hold On
New song (title unknown)
Tour Dates
Jun 24 – le poisson rouge / New York City
Jun 25 – Making Time / Philadelphia
Jun 26 – Club Vinyl / Denver (DJ set)
Jul 23 – Bushnell Park Pavilion / Hartford, CT
Jul 26 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC#
Jul 27 – Trocadero / Philadelphia, PA#
Jul 29 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City#
Aug 02 – Capital Music Hall / Ottawa#
Aug 03 – Phoenix/ Toronto#
Aug 04 – Central Park SummerStage / New York City^
Aug 05 – Majestic Theater / Detroit#
Aug 06 – Lollapalooza / Chicago
Aug 07 – First Avenue / Minneapolis#
Aug 10 – Flames Central / Calgary#
Aug 11 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver#
Aug 12 – Showbox Market / Seattle#
Aug 13 – Roseland Ballroom / Portland#
Aug 16 – House of Blues / San Diego#
Aug 19 – Twilight Concert Series / Salt Lake City
Aug 20 – Ogden Theater / Denver#
Aug 24 – Stubb’s / Austin#
Aug 25 – Palladium / Dallas, TX#
Aug 26 – Cannery Ballroom / Nashville#
Aug 27 – Masquerade / Atlanta#
* with Altered Egos
^ with Hot Chip
# supporting Chromeo
(Author’s note: Despite my securing prior approval from Holy Ghost!‘s people to take photos at the show, U Street Music Hall has a no photography during shows policy. For live photos from their first-ever live gig on May 15, 2010, at Under 100 in New York City, check out this post at Tastes Like Caramel.)
Alex Frankel, one half of New York City electronic act Holy Ghost!, was kind enough to lend his typing fingers and answer some questions for me while he and his partner in crime Nick Millhiser are busy touring North America as support for LCD Soundsystem. The duo recently released their first “album” of material, the Static on the Wire EP, and they’re set for a summer full of shows and festival appearances. I ask him about how they got into recording music, his philosophy behind “good” dance music, and their recent cover of Friendly Fires‘ “On Board,” amongst other things. Have a read.
Mary Chang, PopWreckoning: I’ve read that you two met in grade school. Did you bond immediately over music, certain bands, in band class, etc.? How did you become friends? Alex Frankel, Holy Ghost!: Nick was more skateboardy and I was more, sweat pantsy? We did play in a band in 5th grade (ages 9/10, respectively) that practiced in “The Cage” [a storage space in their elementary school] and was instructed by our social science teacher, Mrs. Preston, who was a very cosmic lady seemingly stuck in the late 1970s. But yeah, we always were doing some music here and there together.
MC: I’ve also read that you were members of a short-lived teen hip hop act in the ’90s called Automato. What instruments did you play, did you sing…? What happened with it? AF: Nick played drums, I played keys. It started when we were 15 but we did it until 2005 actually. It’s how we met James [Murphy] and Tim [Goldsworthy, founders of independent label DFA Records], who produced the record. It faded out, too many cooks in the kitchen, too long spent on the same bunch of songs…we’re all still friends.
MC: How did you get involved with spinning and the making of dance music? Do you each have a personal philosophy towards dance music and what makes it great for you? Is this philosophy different when you yourselves are enjoying the beats in a club vs. when you’re DJaying or performing live? AF: I like music that I have a pleasurable physical response to. I usually go “oooooooohhh” if I like something. And that means some wiring in my brain has been stimulated by the sounds or chords or whatever. But I guess what makes it GREAT is when the physical thing is there, but additionally there is also something emotional that I relate to on top of the music…like lyrics. Like LCD Soundsystem. Or Chic. Or David Bowie. Or Talking Heads.
MC: There are so many great clubs in New York. What are your favorites to spin at? What about when you’ve got a day off and you just want to hear good music and/or dance? AF: This is such an interesting question because everyone asks it and here’s the deal: New York clubs rotate their musical style on a night to night basis these days. Meaning, one night the same club has techno, the next night is ska-fusion night. So, there are no clubs that are ALWAYS good. Like Paradise Garage once was. So I don’t know anyone who just “goes out to dance” and “hopes it’ll be good.” We go to places we know our friends or artists we like listening to will be at. But that venue changes every night. Places of interest are le poisson rouge, Santos Party House, Glasslands.
MC: As for dance scenes, do you each have a favorite? London? Ibiza? Berlin? AF: I’m not sure how to answer that, I guess every place is different? I really love the classic sounds of New York City and Chicago and Detroit. The grit. But I also love the clean, sharp music from Germany, starting from Kraftwerk all the way up to today. We’re pretty open-minded.
MC: Your 2008 single “Hold On” has really taken on a life of its own. During an informal trawling of the Web, I found evidence that fans of dance music think it’s one of those tracks that will live on in dance music history forever (for one, check this link out). Did you have any idea that “Hold On” was going to blow up as big as it did? AF: Absolutely no idea it would go beyond our circle of friends!!
MC: When you started writing and recording music as Holy Ghost!, did you already have an idea of where you wanted to go musically? Did you / do you feel influenced by any artists past or present, dance or not? AF: We wanted to make something that didn’t embarrass our friends, and we wanted to make something that sounded like the music we liked. We wanted to make music that people could dance to but that also was in line with our love of pop music structures.
MC: Let’s switch gears and talk about your releases for this year. In March, you put out a split single with one of PopWreckoning’s favorites, Friendly Fires. The BBC and British music media did a pretty good job of covering their side of what happened on this came about. Is it true that the idea came up over a drunken haze at Calvi on the Rocks in Ibiza last summer? How do you guys know each other? Tell us more. AF: Haha! Yeah, me and Ed [Macfarlane] met at Calvi last year during our DJ set, and I think about 30 minutes later we had agreed on a cover swap. Just clicked right off the bat. Good bloke.
MC: I really liked what you did with “On Board”, the DFA Celestial Choir was a nice touch, as was the bounce of “don’t stop, don’t stop” in the middle. How did you choose that track, and how did you approach doing this cover? AF: Thanks!!! It took forever. There were a bunch of huge personal and technical setbacks during the recording, and it took about 6 weeks. In the end we were really happy with it, felt like we made it our own but kept their original ideas relatively intact. Really fun project.
MC: It must have felt really different doing a full-fledged cover than a remix, being so famous for doing remixes for such high-profile friends like Moby and James Murphy / LCD Soundsystem. AF: Eh, not really. Our “remixes” are often times covers. See the Moby remix (“I Love to Move in Here”) for evidence, where not one sound from the original was used, including vocals.
MC: Your first album-type release, the Static on the Wire EP, was released last month (May 18) on DFA Records. Only four songs but I think it’s a great taster to get people into what Holy Ghost! the recording act is all about. How long did it take to record them? Was it quick from start to finish or have these ideas been percolating since the days of “Hold On”? AF: I don’t know, it’s hard to distinguish things in retrospect. But we’ve been working on a batch of about 13 to 14 songs for 2 or 3 years. These are four. The rest are on the album.
MC: Last month you played your first live, non-DJ gig at Under 100 on May 15. I didn’t have the privilege of being there but some friends were there and really enjoyed the show. What was going through your mind before you went on? AF: STAGE FRIGHT!!!! (Alex provided us with the below YouTube link)
MC: What’s it been like touring with LCD Soundsystem on your first “tour” of the continent? AF: AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING. BEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. BEST BAND IN THE WORLD. WE WAKE UP SO HAPPY EVERY DAY.
MC: You have some high profile appearances in Europe coming up this summer – Calvi on the Rocks to do a live set, London appearances at [the now endangered] Fabric club and the Groove Armada-founded festival Lovebox, and a festival slot at Germany’s Melt. Are there any particular shows that you are most looking forward to? I know I’m looking forward to your appearance in DC at the U Street Music Hall in less than 3 weeks. AF: Actually, aside from Calvi, I’m most psyched for U Street. I’ve heard unbelievable things about the club! Oh, and Summerstage in Central Park because my mom and dad can walk from their houses.
MC: When will your first full-length album hit store shelves? (Or maybe “available for electronic download” is a more appropriate phrase.) Anything you can tell us about it now? AF: It’s not dissimilar from what you’ve heard already. Some shorter, “poppier” songs, but not really. It’s funky. I hope. January [2011 release]?
MC: Some last questions. Your name Holy Ghost! with the exclamation point – who came up with it? Were you ever concerned about the obvious religious connotation? AF: It’s from a Bar-Kays‘s song [a soul, r&b, and funk band founded in the mid-60s that had a single called "Holy Ghost Pt. I / Holy Ghost Pt. II" in 1975], we needed a name. We think it looks cool too.
Holy Ghost!‘s Static on the Wire EP is available from DFA Records now.
Tour Dates
Jun 04 – Hollywood Palladium / Los Angeles*
Jun 05 – Standard Hotel – Los Angeles
Jun 08 – Stubb’s / Austin*
Jun 09 – Palladium / Dallas*
Jun 12 – 88 Palace / New York City (DJ set)
Jun 18 – Sonar / Baltimore
Jun 19 – U Street Music Hall / Washington, DC
Jun 25 – Making Time / Philadelphia
Jun 25 – Vinyl / Denver (DJ set)
Jul 26 – 9:30 Club / Washington, DC#
Jul 27 – Trocadero / Philadelphia#
Jul 29 – Bowery Ballroom / New York City#
Jul 30 – MEG Festival / Montreal#
Aug 02 – Capital Music Hall / Ottawa#
Aug 03 – Phoenix/ Toronto#
Aug 04 – Central Park SummerStage / New York City^
Aug 05 – Majestic Theater / Detroit#
Aug 06 – Lollapalooza / Chicago
Aug 07 – First Avenue / Minneapolis#
Aug 10 – Flames Central / Calgary#
Aug 11 – Commodore Ballroom / Vancouver#
Aug 12 – Showbox Market / Seattle#
Aug 13 – Roseland Ballroom / Portland#
Aug 16 – House of Blues / San Diego#
Aug 19 – Twilight Concert Series / Salt Lake City
Aug 20 – Ogden Theater / Denver#
Aug 24 – Stubb’s / Austin#
Aug 25 – Palladium / Dallas#
Aug 26 – Cannery Ballroom / Nashville#
Aug 27 – Masquerade / Atlanta#
* supporting LCD Soundsystem
^ with Hot Chip
# with Chromeo
I have a love/hate relationship with BBCRadio1 evening show host Zane Lowe. He often gets on my nerves because he likes to shout. A lot. I chalk this up to the fact that he has the privilege of talking to rock stars on a regular basis, and should I ever get a cushy job like that, I would probably be overexcited and shouty as well. However, I digress. It’s thanks to Lowe’s regular choosing of the “Hottest Record in the World” (at 7:30 PM GMT most evenings Monday through Thursday) that I get to hear some of the most hotly-tipped songs before their official release. And here is a prime example of his good taste – PopWreckoning favorites Friendly Fires covering Holy Ghost!‘s now classic “Hold On,” which was chosen as a “Hottest Record” for February 4.
I’ve done research in the blogosphere and heard quite a bit about the backstory of this single from interviews the BBC did last month with Friendly Fires‘s Ed Macfarlane (vocals / bass / synths). What I’ve gathered is that the two acts ran into each other last summer at the dance music festival Calvi on the Rocks in Corsica. It’s unclear which parties were inebriated but Holy Ghost!‘s Alex Frankel made the suggestion of recording covers of each other’s songs. Macfarlane, a self-admitted fanatic of Holy Ghost!‘s work, concurred. Further, Macfarlane told a BBC 6music news reporter that he spent so much time and effort remixingPhoenix‘s “Fences” that given the choice, his preference with respect to Holy Ghost! was to do “a proper reinterpretation” of one of their songs rather than simply a remix.
You may wonder, “if they talked about doing this last summer, why is it taking so long for it to be released?” Further in the folklore is that Friendly Fires, so enthused about the project, got their cover finished quickly. However, Holy Ghost!‘s recording of their track was riddled by bad luck. Word on the street is that their already recorded session tapes and vocal tracks vanished, and they suffered a hard drive meltdown. It should also be noted that there was further delay caused by the untimely death of !!!/LCD Soundsystem drummer Jerry Fuchs. (Incidentally, the “On Board” track is one of the last recordings Fuchs played on.)
If you’ve listened to Friendly Fires‘s “Paris” as many times as I have, the intro to their cover of Holy Ghost!’s “Hold on” should sound welcome as an old friend. The pronounced bass line, as well as winning cowbell and agogô – hallmarks of tracks by this XL Recordings act – make this cover memorably different than the original. The disco dancefloor vibe and the short-sounding lyrics have gone, replaced by in-your-face percussion (thanks to surely one of music’s hardest-working drummers, Jack Savidge) and sexy as hell lead vocals. Edd Gibson‘s guitar riffs three-quarters of the way in are also a totally appreciated addition.
DFA Records duo Holy Ghost! decided they wanted to put their own stamp on the Friendly Fires‘s boisterous singalong “On Board.” (You may recall hearing the original on commercials for the Wii Fit and Gran Turismo 5.) Their take features, as should be expected from them, a disco sensibility; however, it also comes complete with angelic female voices credited as “the DFA Celestial Choir,” lending a vocal richness not present in the original. The lead vocal is more intelligible as well. (Sorry Ed Mac, but if someone hadn’t told me the lyrics included “without your own defiling / you’d backwards circle right above our heads“, I never would have guessed). I also really dig the tacking-on of the catchy, repeated “Don’t stop! Don’t stop!” squarely in the middle of the track.
Because of the mutual admiration Friendly Fires and Holy Ghost! have for each other, I think it’s safe to say that should these two dance music acts ever decide to go on tour together, that would make for one hell of a bill.
The “Hold On” / “On Board” double-A-sided single will be released on 12″ vinyl and digitally on March 8 by XL Recordings. Check out the original versions of both below (Holy Ghost! don’t have a promo video for “Hold On” so only audio is available for that one.)
Friendly Fires - “On Board”
Holy Ghost! - “Hold On”
Track Listing
1. Friendly Fires – Hold On
2. Friendly Fires – Hold On (instrumental)
3. Holy Ghost! – On Board
4. Holy Ghost! – On Board (instrumental)
5. Holy Ghost! – On Board (dub – on download version only)
Philadelphia locals Free Energy will be performing on August 1st at the TLA in support of super group Tinted Windows. Free Energy just released their self-titled debut single July 21st on DFA Records.
The single was released as a 7” backed by B-Side “Something In Common”, which is exclusive to the limited edition pressing – only about 350 made!James Murphy produced single, “Free Energy” and the B-Side, “Something In Common” was produced by Eric Broucek and the band. “Free Energy” is sure to get you moving with its racing licks, cowbell beat and high energy. It’s a perfect mid-summer song.
Be sure to catch Free Energy when they play with Tinted Windows this coming Sunday, August 1st at the TLA on South Street!
Tour Dates:
Aug 01 – Theater of Living Arts / Philadelphia (w/ Tinted Windows)
Aug 03 – Paradise Rock Club / Boston
Aug 07 – Mercury Lounge / New York City (w/ Edward Sharpe)
Aug 26 – Black Cat Backstage / Washington DC
Free Blood is a marriage of opposing ends of a spectrum. The group came to fruition when former !!!member John Pugh and fashion designer Madeline Davy found common ground and much inspiration in a goal of uniting the divergent settings that host New York’s dance and indie music: the Manhattan club scene (or an idealized version of what once was a scene) and the energized, anything-goes Brooklyn warehouse parties that have played host to many of their live sweat-soaked gigs.
“The Royal Family”
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-CJltFIRJwI&hl=en&rel=0&color1=0x006699&color2=0x54abd6]
NYC and Brooklyn equally embody the spirit of the group – their music is rooted in the leftfield enough to keep the Brooklyn kids quite enthused, while the songs, with John and Madeline’s shared vocal duties, are undeniable sing-along pop songs at heart, driven by rhythms that have the sonic thump of the best new disco and modern R&B. You could boil it all down to an electronic rock act, but that tag misses the point completely. For a band that is somewhat hard to classify, Free Blood has a remarkably unique and cohesive sound. They have just completed a tour of the United States with Hot Chip and have managed to make it overseas to perform live several times in the UK and while there performed on Radiohead / Beck producer Nigel Godrich‘s internet TV program “From The Basement.”
The debut single (and the first for the joint Rong/ DFA Records imprint) is entitled “Never Hear Surf Music Again.” The single includes a head turning remix by Barfly (Rong’s own Ben Cook) that further emphasizes the avant garde pop leanings of the band and at times calls to mind the Flying Lizards, another band that helped bridge similar opposing worlds. The single also features a second original new song titled “Quick and Painful.”
The “Royal Family” single (July 15) comes with a second original (“Grumpy” )and both tracks get stunning remix treatments: Free Blood producers The Brothers remix their own production work on “Royal Family” into a main room 4/4 floor filler and disco edit legend Greg Wilson twists some dark magic into “Grumpy”. Davy and Pugh continue their unique use of combined vocals that erupt into manic call-and-response shouts like a pair of punk rock cheerleaders that leave you rooting for more, or at least racing to hear these tracks again.
Fortunately you can get your fix when all four originals will be included with new material and all remixes on the band’s first CD– out Fall 2008 on Rong / DFA Records.
To keep this site up and running, we reserve the sidebar for ads. In that case, put your ad here.
All that's needed is for you to fill out this lovely form.
All media content contained within PopWreckoning is meant to enhance reader appreciation for the art and medium. Please support artists you discover here by purchasing albums, attending shows and buying merch.
Contact us should you wish for certain media to be removed from PopWreckoning.
Concert Calendar
Nov 23, 2011
HaHa Tonka @ Recordbar, Kansas City MO
Nov 25, 2011
Thee Oh Sees @ The Granada, Lawrence KS
The Holy Ghost! story begins in 2007 – when Alex Frankel and Nick Millhiser, childhood friends and mutual lovers of dance beats, released a song that quickly became a dance classic, “Hold On.” It’s hard to believe it took them four years, but here we are in 2011, and the dance duo is finally releasing their self-titled debut album. No surprise they’re releasing it on their good friend James Murphy‘s DFA Records. Actually, you can trace James Murphy‘s influence in this first release of Holy Ghost!‘s: Murphy asked Frankel and Millhiser to tour with LCD Soundsystem in 2010, which forced the duo out of their comfort zone (usually presiding over the decks at dance clubs as DJs, never playing live) to come up with a Holy Ghost! live show. Interview Magazine has called their sound, “Michael Jackson meets New Order at a 1979 disco.” Right up my alley.
D.C. finally has a new, inviting dance club to call its own in the form of the 
I have a love/hate relationship with 
