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Reviewed by Ania Glowacz

Ghosts Of Electricity: Trolls

Reviewed by Ania Glowacz

Ghosts Of Electricity: Trolls

Auckland-based three-piece – Tim Fowler on guitar/vocals, Patrick Girard on drums and bassist Peter Beazley – follow up their debut EP ‘We Are All Bigots’. Self-described as “repressed angry engineer punk rock”, their dry humour infuses each of the dozen tracks of ‘Trolls’ without ever slipping into self-parody. I love the raspy punkified vocal and tempo, reminding in places of Rancid and Ruts DC. There’s a mix up of styles though. Some reggae beat on I Think I?m OK, with the brilliant line, “If you dig deep, you’ll probably just find a hole.” It’s punk, but not as you may know it. The production is very clean and the lyrics are witty and sharp. Inspired by Randy Newman and adopting the ‘false narrator’ role in songwriting, a variety of subjects are ably covered. I Deserve Everything has a Suicidal Tendencies’ vibe, while on Pohutukawa Black Flag gets a nod. Guatemala seems more Dead Kennedys. Two engineers and a philosopher, apparently they don’t have time for too much navel gazing, and so for Ghosts Of Electricity short and sweet is the order of the day.