CD Reviews

Com Truise | Galactic Melt

Ghostly International (2011)

By REYAN ALI | July 26, 2011

1.5 Stars

Do laser light shows still exist? You know the sort: old-school deals where colorful beams flicker and fill a black canvas at varying speeds, projecting images and text for the amusement of a theatrical audience. Well, if that niche medium is still around, someone needs to make a laser light show dedicated to Galactic Melt ASAP. The instrumental-heavy debut full-length from Com Truise (a/k/a Seth Haley) embodies all of the traits of the form: it's mostly cheesy, occasionally fun or impressive, and deeply representative of futuristic-appearing-but-outdated-technology. Galactic Melt slaps its many intriguing sci-fi song titles (see "Cathode Girls," "Flightwave," and "Ether Drift") on a batch of creaky '70s- and '80s-style synth compositions. The glassy, hallucinogenic, and goofy electronics straddle this indecisive middle ground between creating something soothing and something to get your blood pumping. Moreover, Com Truise's repetitive compositions never go anywhere, lacking neither the addictive melodic appeal of Black Moth Super Rainbow nor any kind of open-ended experimentalism. Galactic Melt is entertaining in a novelty sort of way, but the vintage (or vintage-sounding) equipment produces such over-the-top sonics that it sinks the record, unless you're super starved for some already-been-done nostalgia.

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