Ghoul Poon ‘Bastard Sorcerer’ CD / ‘100 Psychic Dreams’ DVD 2010

Ghoul Poon 'Bastard Sorcerer' CD / '100 Psychic Dreams' DVD 2010More often than not when writing a review, I try to live with a release for a while and let it sink in. Initial impressions can quickly give way to almost the opposite feeling after a while (I’d give examples but I fear promoting a band whose musical trajectory actually resulted in massive disappointment) and that is the case even when confronted by with what I’d call ‘normal’ records. When confronted by something like the psychedelic audio/visual explorer Ghoul Poon, then living with it is an essential part of the experience.

Formed in 2007 by DIY impresario Shane Sanchez, this particular project consists of himself and a penchant for creating far out industrial dirges via a bedroom recorder and has expanded into the live arena collaborating with various artists and musicians. Given that the prolific Sanchez has produced a staggering 17 self released albums, a DVD, three Halloween themed compilations and formed his own record label in his time, there should be no doubting the commitment and dedication which has gone into ‘Bastard Sorcerer’ and it’s complimentary visual work ‘100 Psychic Dreams’.

The album itself is a wild experiment of drums machines, samples, hypnotic passages and twisted electronica. On a first listen it combines a wide range of influences that call to mind the dark Europop of early Ministry, Butthole Surfers and even Skinny Puppies ‘Too Dark Park’. The fact that Sanchez has such a diverse palette from his earlier incarnation making dark beats for hip hop label Sub-Bombin Records before converting to a more New Wave/Punk vibe, gives this project a fresh approach and a gleeful disregarding of the ‘rules’.

This DIY approach means that non-instrument playing Sanchez has created a unique sounding band that can shift from stoner style rumbling basslines to dark trip hop, whilst computer enhanced sounds clatter and cascade in the background. At times it resembles wine making, rectum dwelling, Tool fronting, enigma Maynard James Keenan’s Puscifer side project, with its love for dark mantra’s and chanted vocals with female vocals colliding with Sanchez’s own giving rise to humorous and frequently disturbing refrains, as evident on album closer ‘Burn Down The Sorority House’. As a journey into psychedelic noise experimentation this could have people running in fear from the crazy man with the funny named band, but in reality, as much as this is designed to be a collision of noise and boundary breaking exploration, there is a canny ability to write catchy songs on display here. The equipment may be beaten up, lo-fi, analogue and at times kitsch, but Ghoul Poon create an accessible ‘rock’ feel that recalls Joy Division in its acerbic somberness one moment and Sonic Youth’s brazen twisted humour the next.

‘100 Psychic Dreams’, much like it’s audio counterpart can be viewed (excuse the pun) through yet another twisted filter. Part music video, part art house project and all dark humour, the grainy images that owe much to the philosophies of Warhol and Korine and anyone else who turned on a camera with the idea of challenging an audience and watching with glee as they squirm with discomfort. Many of the influences can be drawn from Sanchez’s love of cheesy horror and its B-Movie feel is all lovingly reproduced on broken VHS and an ancient handheld video camera. The result is a low budget, surreal feast that owes as much to ‘The Evil Dead’ as it does to ‘Kiss, Eat, and Sleep’ and is a feast of washed out colours, non-squitor sequences and shaky camera work, all of course underpinned by the haunting sounds of the album.

It is a snapshot of a crazy bad trip viewed from the bong drenched safety someone long past the experience with Satanic Rituals, dental torture and exploration into the human psyche’s dark side, David Lynch with the humour of early Sam Raimi. Ghoul Poon is the culmination of a thousand cheesy horror movies and a thirst to do things in a truly individual way. If you can open your mind far enough and surrender to it, then you might just have discovered a surprising, entertaining new outlet for all those wacked out dark moments.

Or you might just be nuts.

Label: Lofi Kabuki Records
Website: www.ghoulpoon.com

Scribed by: Mark Hunt-Bryden