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Post punkers Mother Ghost out with new LP ‘Radio Fantasma’

By Kath Galasso on September 20, 2024

After nearly three years, a remix and a collab “split album” with fellow post punkers Mind Mine, Mother Ghost are about to release their new full-length album, Radio Fantasma. Still experimenting with genre and pushing boundaries, Oscar and Thomas Flores have released a teaser track, an aggressive, industrial-tinged rock polisher called “Negative Affirmations” with the title track due to tease further on July 6 before the full album is out on July 19. Given how heavy the first tune in, it’s helpful of the Houston-based brothers to give fans a warmup.

Whilst “Negative Affirmations” is a strong, fast starter that combines punk, industrial and aggressive, drum & bass-style beats, fans shouldn’t expect Radio Fantasma to have abandoned the more melodic and new-wave aspects of Mother Ghost’s sound. Written largely during the early pandemic, the brothers Flores were happy (in retrospect) to have the time to explore new sounds, however, and the time and care taken in the studio is obvious in the end product. The duo even made the decision to outsource production to fellow Geodesic Records artist aCr.

We have loved having the time to focus in the studio, allowing us to experiment and discover the right sound for each song.

Radio Fantasma is about the anxieties of everyday life and the things that help us get through to the next day.
Most of the lyrics on the album come from our personal life, a news story, or social grievance.

The heat of those personal experiences and social grievances really comes through on the album, with both brothers leaning into their punk anger. Thomas’s normally Peter Hook-like bass comes through more punishing and menacing than ever before, and his synths follow suit. Oscar’s guitar work screams along with his vocals in many tracks like the afore-mentioned “Negative Affirmations”, “Sunshine” and “Triton”. Smoother, calmer work can be found here as well, such as in album opener “Talk Slow,” “Con Colmillo” and “Every Day”, but there’s also a smattering of classic post punk on the title track and album closer “Rat King”.

No matter what the genre or sound the duo are exploring on Radio Fantasma, it’s clear Mother Ghost took the time to really develop the sound and the result is a wildly entertaining and musically varied offering. It’s creatively likely one of the most raw and honest post punk albums of the year as well. It’s about time they came back and filled that gap.

Watch the music video for title track “RadioFantasma”.

Stream or playlist on Spotify.

Musician Names/Instruments: Oscar Flores – Guitar/Vocals/Programming; Thomas Flores – Bass/Programming/Synths/Backing Vocals
Producer Name(s):aCr

Tracklist:

Talk Slow
Dead Inside
Negative Affirmations
Triton
Con Colmillo
Bury Me Loose
Radio Fantasma
Sunshine
Every Day
Anxious Trees
Unconditional
Feedback
Rat King

Websites:
Official Website:https://geodesicrecords.com/mother-ghost
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MotherGhost
Instagram: @motherghostmusic
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0eETXmDC0CxkQXAkv3uiFr?si=O7YgHSthR9qL3a-satXqmg
Bandcamp: https://mother-ghost.bandcamp.com
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/geodesicrecords/sets/radio-fantasma/s-oWMD2yOcxdi?si=346faeaa6e284f849fd3b4a18540e592&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
Youtube Channel: @geodesicrecords

Artist Biography:
Based out of Houston, TX, Mother Ghost is two brothers, Oscar and Thomas Flores. Drawing inspiration from the DIY aggression of Post-Punk, the infectious grooves of New Wave, and the Hard-Hitting drums of House music, the duo has managed to put together a very eclectic sound. Originally formed as a conventional three-piece punk band, Mother Ghost eventually became a duo after going through several drummers in a short period of time. This pushed them to pick up drum machines and sequencers, and allowed the band to explore different facets of their songwriting. They began merging the electrifying rhythms of late 80’s to early 90’s dance music with the driving riffs and experimental nature of modern-day post-punk. Songs are rewritten, rearranged and mutated until they find their perfect sequence. Their latest offering is the album, Radio Fantasma, that confronts themes of police brutality, class division, yearning for family, and finding your way through the anxieties of everyday life.

Press Quotes:
“The mix of techno, punk, new wave and their Latin heritage is utterly sublime. “ – Samantha Simmonds-Ronceros, https://nohoartsdistrict.com/mother-ghosts-somnambulo/

“A gleaming, chopping guitar and loose, vibrating bassline imbue the tune with contagious layers of sound as Oscar’s dreamy, suburban vocals infuse the lyrics with urgent moodiness.” – Randall Radic, https://www.xsnoize.com/video-premiere-mother-ghost-la-petite-mort/
“Certain songs have sensual, undeniable groovalicious grooviness” – Indeuce, https://breakingandentering.net/2021/09/15/mother-ghost-awakens-listeners-on-somnambulo-lp/

“The unforgiving ‘Criminal’ shifts jaggedly in a putrid atmosphere based on a driving sound that just won’t quit.” – Barra Ó Súilleabháin, https://headstuff.org/entertainment/music/review-mother-ghost-somnambulo/
“Somnámbulo by Mother Ghost is a hard-hitting record that, at times, encapsulates aggression against infectious grooves, but can also strip back to more docile build-ups” – Jamie Parmenter, https://www.vinylchapters.com/mother-ghost-somnambulo-review/

“With industrial-style synths, experimental composition styles and political, evocative vocals, the album, released last month, deigns to take post punk into the 21st century” – Layla Marino, https://www.youredm.com/2021/10/22/new-artist-spotlight-mother-ghost-release-debut-album-in-the-face-of-tragedy-geodesic-records-video/