TV Ghost

Taking their name from the phenomenon of analog television frequency disturbances, Lafayette, Indiana's TV Ghost began as purveyors of an especially sludgy and punishing brand of art-punk. The band formed in 2006, with vocalists/guitarists Tim Gick and Jimmy Frezza recruiting keyboardist Brahne Hoeft and drummer Jackson VanHorn. Their first 7", "Atomic Rain," was released by Die Stasi Records, also home at the time to the noisy likes of Pink Reason and Zola Jesus. The band's sinister sound -- which echoed the Scientists and the Cramps' mid-'70s output -- and frantic live shows won them an underground following. Late in 2007, Frezza left the band to go to art school, and bassist Shawn Beckering joined the fold in time to record a nine-song EP that arrived in early 2008. That year, TV Ghost signed to In the Red to release a full-length album and appeared at the label's South by Southwest showcase. The band also released The Fiend/Prodome as a part of Columbus Discount's Single of the Month Club in May 2009, a few months before their debut full-length Cold Fish surfaced. In 2010, VanHorn departed; Hoeft took over drumming duties and Frezza returned as keyboardist. Gick, Hoeft, and Frezza recorded the band's second album, Mass Dream, and TV Ghost then embarked on a lengthy tour of the U.S. and Europe. Once the tour was finished, Beckering left and TV Ghost recruited bassist Tristan Ivas. In the Red released Mass Dream in April 2011, and the following year the Phantasm/Panic Area single arrived on Sweet Rot Records. Later in 2012, VanHorn rejoined TV Ghost as a guitarist, and this lineup of the band opted for a slower, more expansive sound influenced by Echo and the Bunnymen and the Cure. The hypnotic Disconnect, which featured production work by Chris Woodhouse, arrived in September 2013.
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