Raving Ghost
is a title that suggests a direct connection to the "garage goth"
Olivia Jean
played back in the days of
the Black Belles
, the short-lived band she fronted at the dawn of the 2010s. As soon as the title track slides into a slinky go-go groove, it's clear that she has opted for the lighter side of the fence this time around. Like
Night Owl
before it,
is almost a one-woman show. She doesn't play drums -- duties that are largely split between
Carla Azar
and
Patrick Keeler
-- and
Roger Joseph Manning, Jr.
comes by to lay on keyboards, but the production and all the other instruments are all
, who makes this sound as tight and raucous as a well-oiled band. The album overspills with retro nods -- waves of surf guitars, swinging rhythms, garage grime, and greasy organs -- all cobbled together from thrift stores and old records, yet the execution is fresh and clever. Not everyone would reimagine
Enya
's enveloping new age anthem "Orinoco Flow" as a punk pogo, but that's the key to the appeal of
: it's coming from a place that's equal parts fun and irreverence. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine