A lot of the time when a band releases a double album it’s out of laziness, an unwillingness to refine their work and remove what’s unnecessary. This is absolutely not the case with Businessmen & Ghosts. There are a staggering 29 tracks on this album, and while some certainly shine brighter than others not a single one is filler.
The versatility of WFANFC is astounding, and this is probably in a large part due to the fact that the members of the band are clearly incredibly talented musicians and the groundwork for a lot of the tracks is laid out by actual instruments (check out the absolutely ridiculous drum part on “Innocence”). The first disc opens with an ambient track, “224th Day”, and then immediately turns around and hits you with the pulsating and driving “Troubled Son.” And yet, this flowing between styles never feels out of place or forced. Even when they venture into folk on tracks like “Home” or dream pop on “Stone Cold” it sounds consistent because elements of these genres are scattered throughout the album.
Businessmen & Ghosts is mesmerizing. It might be long, but it’s never boring. There’s something here for everyone, even those who aren’t normally fans of electronic music.
-Cosmonaut