"Freak," the opening track on the fifth album from
Dead Ghosts, 2020's
Automatic Changer, is an exercise in junkshop psychedelia overflowing with fuzz, wah-wah, reverb, and Farfisa organ that sounds like its creators were sentenced to life imprisonment inside one of the
Back from the Grave compilations. If you love acid-damaged garage punk, it's about as good a first salvo as you could ask for, and the rest of
Automatic Changer hardly disappoints. While clearly beholden to the past,
Dead Ghosts show just enough awareness of the present that their sense of history has some valid perspective, and just as importantly, they dive head first into this music with a sense of commitment that has scarcely been heard since the glory days of
the Driving Stupid.
Automatic Changer isn't a dramatic departure from the low-tech adventure of 2015's
Love and Death & All the Rest, but the addition of Craig Pettman on keyboards is a welcome development. His retro-styled electric piano and organ sounds are a great fit for their aesthetic, as well as reinforcing their particular Wall of Sound, and guitarists Drew Wilkinson and
Bryan Nicol understand the value of cheap guitars and outdated effects pedals with a zeal that puts them in league with
Steve Turner and
Mick Collins. Bassist
Maurizio "Moe" Chiumento and drummer Mike Wilkinson keep things lively, and overall
Dead Ghosts bring just enough of their own brand of sonic weirdness to this music to keep them a safe distance from being just another bunch of garage revivalists trying too hard to live in the past (and the steel guitar accents on the country-ish "Turn It Around" and "Merle" are a nice change of pace). If you're looking to turn on, tune in, and pass out,
Automatic Changer could be just the soundtrack you need.