Album: Former Ghosts, New Love (Upset The Rhythm)

New Love is the second album by Former Ghosts, a project led by a self-evident Joy Division fan called Freddy Ruppert but also featuring Phoenix-based nouveau-goth singer Zola Jesus and Jamie Stewart of San José avant-gardists Xiu Xiu.

Over minimal synth-based backing, Ruppert bares his heartbroken soul through an echo box. The intermittent bursts of melody are often mangled almost beyond listenability. But it's Jesus's Sioux-meets-Lauper turn on "Chin Up" which turns this from a chucker into a keeper.