Amanda Ghost's story will be familiar to many young artists: she signed to Warner Brothers as a teen, received a bundle of cash, put out an album, felt trapped and pigeonholed by the label, and went "underground". Fortunately, time is on her side, and she's going it DIY style for her next album, from which this is the first single.

Musically speaking, these four songs are incredible. The mix reflects a futuristic pastiche of Dr. Dre, Marilyn Manson and Matmos -- essentially a headphone enthusiast's wet dream. Old school drum machines gain new life from effects processing, while their acoustic counterparts resonate powerfully when called upon; guitars tremble under bit-reduction, barely resembling their former selves ("Crave"'s e-bow solo is to die for); monophonic basslines surge and quiver beneath the surface while panning across "Monster"'s stereo field. Even old hat stuff like the string-pad-as-texture trope is transformed into a more dynamic sound, particularly during "Girls Like You"'s ever-evolving background drones. Whether this is Ghost's ghost's influence, the work of producer Dave McCracken, or input from some unnamed spanking-new intern engineer, it really is genius stuff.

Sadly, the weak point is Ghost's vocals. Her storytelling is bland, her wordplay is lackluster, her lyrics lack power and she fails to deliver any stick-in-your-head hooks or melodies (example: "you are the venom in my mouth / I've tried to reach you but you've always shut me out"). The one exception, "Girls Like You", is done from the perspective of a guy who's singing to Ghost (or some other heart breakee), but again, there's no compelling protagonist or heart-wrenching confrontation to care about.

This muted trait would work with the right delivery (or mended by covering the dry mix in DSP), but Ghost isn't quite there. Her voice is a mix of Nikka Costa, Kristen Hersh and Fiona Apple, but it lacks those performers' confidence and fuck-you attitude.

Perhaps Ghost's vocals are so mindblowingly fresh and ahead of the pack that we need to wait three years to "get it". Maybe a few more listens will deliver the revelation. For now, there's nothing endearing about her performance. You could stick around for the amazing music, but as long as Ghost's name is on the cover, it's not unreasonable to expect her to deliver.