• Artist Website: www.thegayblades.com
• Listen at: www.myspace.com/gayblades
• Available on: eMusic

The Gay Blades are a two-man group out of New York and their debut album, Ghosts, is a raucous, swaggering record with a classic rock vibe and indie cred to spare. The pair have the style and laid-back cool of Los Angeles duo She Wants Revenge, but the sound of the album is closer to Rachel Yamagata’s Happenstance. Distinct pop and jazz influences give the hardest tracks depth and ease the transitions into the softer songs that are the album’s true standouts. Ghosts has amazing scope, the songs range from  energetic dance numbers, “Hey She Say,” to slower, introspective songs, “Dog Day Afternoon.” The vocals are delivered with an elastic versatility, the singer hovers a breath away from a sob on “Prologue for the Pure of Heart,” croons like a jazz singer on “Dog Day Afternoon,” and shouts and wails in opener “O Shot.” The lyrics are classic clever, indie-obtuse arrangements that spiral from sunny optimism to the dark cynicism that defines the genre.