Ghostland Observatory

Ghostland Observatory’s third effort announces itself as the breakout album it is intended to be. The aptly titled “Opening Credits” slowly swells over a dramatic 2-1/2 minutes like the soundtrack to 2001: A Space Odyssey before dropping into the tinny robotic beats of “Heavy Heart,” which sweeps upon an ominous bridge of Rush-like prog-rock behind Aaron Behrens’ breathy wail. “Dancing On My Grave” explodes as the club centerpiece, controlled and ripe for remix, while the title track drones Thomas Turner’s synth against Behrens’ punctuated agitation. More tightly structured than the Austin duo’s previous efforts, Robotique Majestique is expansive and carefully paced, allowing songs like the politically posed “The Band Marches On” and the funky electro-instrumental “Holy Ghost White Noise” to open and settle, even as the closing “HFM” unloads a fevered punk scree of distortion.