Dance with the ghost

“I think dance is God’s gift,” said Thomas Turner. And as half of dance-duo Ghostland Observatory, he’s looking to make good on the generosity of the higher power. Turner, in an e-mail interview, went on to remark, “Since the dawn of man, we have danced.”

“I think dance is God’s gift,” said Thomas Turner. And as half of dance-duo Ghostland Observatory, he’s looking to make good on the generosity of the higher power.

Turner, in an e-mail interview, went on to remark, “Since the dawn of man, we have danced.”

That might be why Ghostland Observatory creates great dance music without all the stuff that makes people embarrassed to admit they love it. The group, which consists of Aaron Behrens and Turner, hails from Austin Texas, and according to their MySpace page, sounds like “a robot making love to a tree,” which may have something to do with the title of their newest album, Robotique Majestique. Or maybe not.

For those of us who’ve never had the pleasure of hearing a robot make love to a tree (and it would be a pleasure if it does sound anything like Ghostland Observatory), it might be clearer to say they sound like shaking your ass with an edge.

Their music is definitely for dancing, but it’s so much more. Turner’s beats pay homage to Prince in his prime, original hip-hop (think Run DMC), ’70s Funk, ’80s dance and the height of glam-rock. Behren’s vocals definitely pay tribute to the glam-rock sound as well, with the all the edge and cocky badass attitude of David Bowie or Queen’s Freddie Mercury.

As a result, Robotique Majestique offers something that the current wave of dance/electro doesn’t–a revival of the human element. Tracks like “Dancing on my Grave,” “Holy Ghost White Noise” and the title track “Robotique Majestique” stand out as hit singles, but the songs “HFM”, “Club Soda” and “Heavy Heart” are also forces to be reckoned with. All in all, these guys sound like they’ll put on a good show, delivering the whole audio-visual package all night long, rather than just providing sporadic moments of substance-free booty shaking.

Not to say that a sweaty dance fest isn’t awesome, or likely to occur, rather it seems safe to anticipate much more. Turner had this to say about their shows: “From my point of view, it is energy and movement. Pure and natural. Supernatural. Soulful. Excitement. Something bigger than everything but very much a part of everyone that is at the show.”

Turner said that the progression from the first record, Paparazzi Lighting, to Robotique Majestique is life-based and natural.

“Life takes our music further along into our journey. We listen and feel where it should go. We have seen things, lived through things, and realized things. I don’t know if you would call it evolving but we have moved into a new position.”

That new position is always-as the band claims on their Web site–“ballsy.”

“Ballsy is doing something not everybody would do,” claims Turner. And although the influence of other artists, such as Daft Punk, is clear in their music, Ghostland Observatory has met their goal.

Ghostland Observatory

Tonight at the Crystal Ballroom

$18, all-ages