THE BOSTON HERALD - 02.18.00

"Star Ghost Dog Barking Up Right Tree"

The new Star Ghost Dog album, "The Great Indoors'' (Catapult), is blessed with creative simplicity that revels in its memorable rock surprises. It bristles with the pop twists of the songs by guitarist Brendan Lynch and singer Ginny Weaver, a balance of alluringly simple, nearly pedestrian, riffs with smartly emotive bursts and a sprite rhythmic glide.

Star Ghost Dog features the new disc tomorrow at the Middle East with Cherry 2000, Mishima and Jr. Corduroy.

"We try to write music that's catchy, but not disgustingly catchy in a 'Friends' TV theme kind of way,'' says Lynch.

On "Holiday,'' a standout CD track, Owen Burkett's heaving bass melodies underline mood changes as they move against the straightforward click and strum of the guitars and Chris Foley's drums. Other highlights include the atmospheric "Exploding Party Favor,'' built around an accidental loop of a vocal sample, and the tonal crunch of the title track.

"The Great Indoors'' was produced by Master Cylinder (Peter Ducharme), the Somerville musician who wrote the VW Jetta "Synchronicity'' soundtrack. Simple sounds and treatments, with an emphasis on the pure tones of sine waves, flutes and the like, perk up the ear throughout the disc.

"(Master Cylinder) made a lot of difference in the little details. He and I would be wired on coffee at four in the morning, trying to make a broken garage-sale synthesizer make satellite noises,'' Lynch says. He adds that Star Ghost Dog are not fans of most modern rock and instead cites an affection for the Beatles, David Bowie and Beck, "bands that can change their sound album to album, even song to song. We're into being as experimental as possible, hopefully without annoying people.''

- Tristram Lozaw