Ghost Train- Nice to Creature

Ghost Train is an on-again-off-again project featuring Tony Lestat and Zambo of Wreckage as well as Kent Bancroft, whose credits include Like Wreckage and Screams for Tina. With only a handful of compilation appearances in their discography (as well as a 5-song EP on the way), the limited edition single for the song "Nice To Creature" is essentially the band's standalone debut. Judging a band based on a 3-minute single is, perhaps, one of the most difficult tasks a music reviewer is likely to face, especially when its b-side is a two-and-a-half minute remix of their cover of "Viva Las Vegas" (the original apparently being found on the Elvis tribute Haunted Heartbreak Hotel). However, the material on this single falls squarely into the gothabilly/psychobilly category, combining retro rockabilly/surf rock with quirky lyrical wordplay and imagery inspired by old-school monster movies.

The a-side, "Nice To Creature", is a quirky, fun old-school rock track with catchy surf guitar melodies and lyrical allusions to a variety of classic Hollywood horror monsters centered around clever wordplay like "It's really good to see you and it's nice to creature". Its b-side is a short, somewhat modernized upbeat cover of "Viva Las Vegas". With great lead guitars, a solid drum/bass/rhythm guitar foundation, and clean, somewhat Elvis-inspired vocals that definitely fit the band's style, both tracks are well-performed, catchy, and just plain fun.

While Ghost Train's "Nice To Creature" certainly caters to something of a small cult corner of the general goth/rock fanbase, it's an enjoyable, refreshingly upbeat release with a fairly fun, innocent vibe. In fact, it might even be a good release for those fogey goths with tiny black-clad gothlings running around. While it's certainly hard to judge a band based on 5 minutes and 45 seconds of material, I can say that "Nice To Creature" is a fun single and hopefully an indication of what's to come from this band.