It’s reasonable to expect a collaboration between Jauz and Ghastly to yield something of substance. Both artists have become household names in electronic music, and for good reason – but what they’ve delivered with “Ghosts N’ Sharks” falls short of what each artist is individually capable of.
In a nutshell, the quality of “Ghosts N’ Sharks” neither requires nor justifies how much it borrows. The opening synth melody emulates the key and chord progression of that of deadmau5′ 2009 track “Ghosts N Stuff” before the iconic bass line of Jauz’ “Feel The Volume” and vocal samples from Ghastly’s “Crank It” make appearances – but the whole of the production is synthesized so awkwardly that it comes across more like a hastily-made edit before a performance.
Considering that Jauz and Ghastly are friends, it’s surprising that such qualified artists couldn’t turn out something more respectable than “Ghosts N’ Sharks.” It’s still but a small blemish on each artist’s otherwise stellar string of 2016 releases, though, so I wouldn’t put it past them to redeem themselves in the months to follow.