The Singles Jukebox

Spooky.

[Video]
[6.00]

Al Varela: Hiring Ghost to make a song for the upcoming Halloween reboot is such an inspired choice I feel like if they went with anyone else it would have been a huge mistake. “Hunter’s Moon” has the exact balance of menace and camp that makes horror movies like Halloween so nostalgic. I smile every time I hear that goofy little title drop followed by a shredding guitars solo.
[8]

Tim de Reuse: It’s not just kitsch, it’s a collage of kitsch, flitting from one sonic realm to another, enthusiastic about each idea for a few bars at a time before getting bored of it, leaving no lasting impression other than of a general exuberance. But it is very exuberant, throwing itself completely into each little idea that crosses its mind — just listen to that choir, or that piano in the bridge, or those adorable growls of “Hun-ter’s Moon,” straight from a Cartoon Network Halloween special!  I am glad that this kind of silly, lovingly rendered passion project exists, even though its vibe is too sickly-sweet for me to ever put on heavy rotation.
[6]

Oliver Maier: I’ve heard very good things about Ghost and very bad things about the new Halloween movie. Given the humourless state of modern horror I’m shocked that this was allowed to be the tie-in song, but I’m delighted it shook out this way because it’s charming, earnest fun. He literally says “I’m dying to see you” like he’s a funny vampire. Come on.
[7]

John S. Quinn-Puerta: If they would ditch the artifice and stick to the proggy bits, I might enjoy this. But the flanger and the too-busy drums make this a messy nightmare, and that’s without even discussing the weakness of Tobias Forge’s vocal style. 
[4]

Ian Mathers: Do rock bros still care about guitars vs. synthesizers? Because honestly you could tell me the lead riff here was made by either and I’d believe you. Either way it’s kind of impressive how weenie they make it sound. It’s like the kind of shitty horror movie where it’s got all the signifiers of something that supposed to be dreadful/impressive/upsetting/something, but fails to actually animate any of those signifiers so that it’s horror (or, with the song, metal) in the most nominal sense only. Huh. Wonder why that comparison popped into my head.
[3]

Nortey Dowuona: The churning guitars sliding above the shaky drums are so easy to smash, that you can’t lean in too close, so you have to ease back. Tobias Forge is a superb howler, spitting the rage of a fervent hunter, leading the rest of his crew to lift their forks, and they toss down their instruments to hunt.
[7]

Edward Okulicz: The overblown nature of a lot of hard rock has a kitsch element to it that’s well understood, but not often well deployed. A single from a horror franchise is definitely using the mix of butch/camp for its noblest purpose. It’s probably too pop to really slash, but that just makes it more like an action movie than a horror one, and I don’t find horror movies scary anyway.
[7]

Alfred Soto: This is silly, transcendentally silly, down to that can-you-hear-me-New-Jersey guitar riff. I don’t hear this sort of silliness on the charts often, though, so I’ll forgive the vocals, which sound like Postal Service singing over James Hetfield. 
[6]