FORMER GHOSTS - Fleurs

When news emerged that Jamie Stewart of the emotionally crippling Xiu Xiu and enchanting but no less devastating Nika Roza, better known as Zola Jesus, were teaming up with Freddy Ruppert of This Song is A Mess But So Am I (my vote for top 10 band names ever) to form the band Former Ghosts there was more than a mild stirring among the indie rock community. The idea of Stewart and Roza playing off of each other was exciting for anyone with an appetite for dark, gothic emotional music. One could imagine a modern This Mortal Coil being birthed. Now the band has dropped their first album “Fleurs,” and while it does offer deeply emotional goth-tinged tunes, it centers on Ruppert’s electro-pop compositions heavily influenced by Joy Division.

The album opens with “Us and Now” a gentle but stately piece of swelling electronics and steady percussive effects. Ruppert’s vocals sounds as deep and worn and Ian Curtis himself as he sings of the toll time takes on love. Clattering percussion and electronic noise dart in and out of the piece. Once all the elements have revealed themselves and the song draws to a close, it is clear that this is not going to be a casual listen, but that it is going to be a rewarding one. “Hold On” picks up the pace with a solid pounding beat and a soulful chorus benefiting from Roza’s ethereal voice. Album highlight “Mother” follows sounding like a demo of a lost Joy Division or early New Order song. The song is also reminiscent of fellow travelers Cold Cave who often pillage the Factory Records vaults as well. The difference between the two bands is that while Cold Cave makes dance music you can dance to, Former Ghosts make dance music to sit, ponder and sometimes cry to. Ruppert’s compositions are laden with loss, lyrically and musically. This isn’t an album you throw on in celebration, but it is an album that provides solace after the bright lights have dimmed and you are left yearning in the dark.

What follows is a swath of chilly, but deeply moving pieces of music that mix traditional song structure with IDM. “Choices” is another album highlight that finds Ruppert singing of unrequited love against a slow moving procession of electronics. “In Earth’s Palm” finds Roza stepping in front of the mic to highlight her beautifully powerful voice. The superb “I Wave” and “Dreams,” find Ruppert exchanging Joy Division for Aphex Twin to create a pop IDM fusion that will have Thom Yorke green with envy.

The album begins to wind down with the profoundly sad “Unfolding.” The song is as stately as the album’s opener, but whatever shades of light and life existed before have been extinguished. Roza returns to the spotlight for “The Bull and the Ram,” a haunting piece that improves the album’s dour mood, but only slightly. “This is My Last Goodbye” ends the album on a strong, but painful note. Ruppert croaks the lyrics “all my dreams fall apart, where my heart comes undone, where memories can’t save us, where my love fails you, and every dried petal falls away, it’s okay everything dies” in the voice of a man who has lost every last bit of hope. Ruppert’s resignation gives way to Roza’s impassioned voice repeatedly asking “who is going to love you like I do?” It may be the final cry before the block of ice melts under the singer whose neck is in a noose, or it may be a defiant last stand in the face of love’s injustice, either way it is powerful stuff, and a fitting ending for a spectacular album.