Raving for Geist

The little guy in this picture is Morgan Geist. No, I'd never heard of him either, but I was asked to review his new album (Double Night Time) for Rave magazine. I'm pretty stoked about this, and hoping I get to write again and perhaps start up some sort of illustrious side career. It's quite exciting but I'm not that proficient at it yet. Stay tuned to see it in a magazine near you soon..

PS. His album sucks. Don't buy it. Unless you like suckful music.

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MORGAN GEIST – Double Night Time
(Environ Records / Inertia)
House music by Sega Megadrive

Double Night Time is the first solo album release from New Yorker Morgan Geist (one half of group Metro Area) in over a decade. Drawing upon his early influences, the recording is a distinctly retro-feeling affair, with whispery lyrics from Jeremy Greenspan of Junior Boys layered over deep-space house.
The openers are dark but vibrant, and it’s easy to imagine the musician working in his studio with a Thriller poster towering above. The atmosphere builds as robotic synths and sound effects ricochet around deep but admittedly generic, disco-feeling bass hooks.
Third track Nocebo is a little reminiscent of German duo Booka Shade’s earlier pieces, and the middle of the album trudges along without much fuss. Most of All displays greater potential musically but is let down by uninspiring and asinine lyrics- “Most of all/I love you/Most of all/It makes me want to cry”.
In the latter half, both Palace Life and Lullaby are more upbeat in mood and tempo. Here the listener benefits from a slight detour in an otherwise brooding soundscape.
Recently Geist has spoken about having a lack of enthusiasm for contemporary dance music, and here he returns to the roots of his influences but the result is an album that feels like he hasn’t rediscovered that enthusiasm yet. The bleeps and bloops are not dissimilar to what the listener may have experienced from the original Sonic the Hedgehog game, and the bass guitar is decidedly Axel Foley in it’s delivery. All in all it’s a tawdry affair, and it all feels like it’s been done before.