Ghostland Observatory

Robotique Majestique, the third studio effort by Texas duo Ghostland Observatory, begins with the unfortunately anticlimactic “Opening Credits.” Though the track may rouse a live crowd, it falls flat on the album. Luckily for Robotique, Behrens' nostalgia-inducing voice and producer/drummer/keyboardist Thomas Turner's slick production on “Heavy Heart” help the album pick up after a rough start.

Ghostland Observatory has gained notoriety through the flamboyant stage presence of lead vocalist Aaron Behrens, and when Behrens squeals, “Heart, heart, sharp as a razor blade,” you may wonder if Behrens isn't Freddie Mercury reincarnated.

Sadly, Turner's deft productions and Behrens' funky, soulful voice don't save Robotique from being a generally mediocre album. The duo stay true to the electronic-dance-funk style they established with their first album, delete.delete.i.eat.meat, but gone is the rougher rock feel of that album. Turner's production is smooth to a fault.

The album has a few highlights, namely “The Band Marches On,” a well-structured, catchy tune, and “Dancin' On My Grave,” an obvious dance-floor pick driven by Behrens' wild vocals, but it simply nosedives after the horribly boring instrumental “Holy Ghost White Noise” followed by the dark and industrial sounds of “HMF.” You begin to wonder where the album could possibly go after the thumping, early-Nine Inch Nails sounds of “HMF,” before proceeding into the bland, processed, club-ready sounds of “Club Soda,” easily the worst song on the whole album.

And following the shittiest track on the album comes the goofiest track on the album — Behrens steps back from his role as contemporary Freddie Mercury and breaks out a can of Aqua Net for the hair-metalesque, “No Place for Me,” in which he sings, “I give myself thrill after thrill.” Good for you, brother, but the rest of us listening to this album are bored as hell.

Skip iTunes and check these guys out on YouTube. Live is where this band shines.