Ghostigital

Ghostigital is more a concept than a literal band. At its core are ex-Sugarcubes vocalist Einar Örn and digital/tape-delay wizard Curver, plus several contributors (including underground hip hop head Dälek and U.K. improviser Steve Beresford), and their combined efforts produced In Cod, a feverish sound-clash on which hip hop beats and raps intermingle with free-jazz improvisation and blasts of abrasive/industrial dissonance. "Not Clean" juxtaposes urban-style rhymes with the taciturn musings (i.e., acid-tongued spew) of the Fall's Mark E. Smith. If one may imagine celestial choirs in heaven, "Strange As It Might Seem" is likely the heart-of-darkness counterpoint while approaching the Stygian depths: The agonized wails of the disembodied are complemented by ecstatic horn squalls, monotoned cadences, and a bewildering collage of samples -- such merriment is comparable only (slightly) to the Britpunk/Stockhausen/dub amalgam of the Pop Group and German noisemeisters Einstürzende Neubauten. In Cod concludes with "Sense of Reason," which is hell house music, Merzbow meets DJ Shadow at the abyss' edge. One thing's for sure: You can't say Ghostigital didn't show you a scary good time.