Album Reviews

After the demise of Nakatomi Plaza, I was worried that I’d have to keep making do with their old albums. Luckily it didn’t take Oscar A. Rodriguez long to start a new band. His new pet project is called Ghost Robot Ninja Bear and after the releases of two EPs, he recently dropped a first full-length.

Sticking with Nakatomi Plaza’s sound for the largest part, this self-titled debut immediately sounds familiar with plenty of big guitars that go from soothing to all-round destruction in mere seconds while the rhythm section is tight and loud with Rodriguez belting over it all. Opener “The Curtain Call” serves as the perfect introduction of things to come with bigass riffs washing over you before a catchy chorus kicks in. They keep this up throughout most of the album but will occasionally throw in something a little more mellow like “I Can’t Decide” which comes with a Dinosaur Jr touch.

Whatever kinda vibe they’re going for, Ghost Robot Ninja Bear always pulls it off. It takes a couple of listens to really get into this album but after that it’s hard to stop listening to it and it’s to see that Rodriguez is still around making quality tuneage.