GHÖSH. Photo by Layne Miller.
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With all the pomp and circumstance of a 10-car pileup on I-76, GHÖSH are crashing headlong into the ears of an ill-prepared listening public. The Philadelphia synth-punk/hip-hop duo of guitarist/producer Zach Fairbrother and lead vocalist Symphony Spell are celebrating their recent signing to Ramp Local with the announcement of their forthcoming EP PRISMASSIVE and the release of its lead single, “Devil Lady.”
On the new track, Fairbrother places a sloppy, shreddy guitar lick over frenetic, synthetic drums that can only attempt to keep up with Spell as her blistering bars race ahead of the beat. “If the devil’s real, then you’re lookin’ at her,” she raps on the hook, to which Fairbrother responds with his best impression of a nu-metal hype man: “Turn the bass real loud now when you’re lookin’ at her!” The white-knuckled chaos fizzles out neatly ahead of the two-minute mark.
“I have a difficult relationship with religion,” Spell says, discussing the song’s satanic themes in a press release. “I grew up Baptist and I hated it. Church was always a place where I felt alienated and judged. I went to the kind of church and was raised by the kind of people who find the devil in anything they don’t like. The devil is in heavy music, the devil is in dark clothing, the devil is gay and slutty. I spent a lot of time afraid of the devil even though the devil seemed to be everywhere, in everything I love. Once I decided to honor the evil in myself, I felt liberated by the power. I have spent a lot of time trying to find the archetype for evil that is powerful, feminine, and coquettish. Who is the hot goddess of the underworld or the powerful witch who’s actually pretty cute? There aren’t a lot out there; evil women are so often portrayed as haggard hermits. I wrote this song to help myself embody that creature. I reference some of my favorite feminine mythological entities like harpies, sirens, Pomba Gira, and Strega Nona as means to harness their energy. Honoring the wickedness in the divine feminine is radical. It feels deliciously mischievous to declare that so proudly. Am I possessed? I might be.”
“Devil Lady” arrives alongside a Hanna Hamilton-directed music video that revels in its creepy camp, with Spell in clown makeup and Fairbrother dressed as a Day-Glo cowboy. PRISMASSIVE is due out May 26 via Ramp Local. Its cassette version will feature eight previously released bonus tracks, available in physical form for the first time. Watch the clip and check out the tape’s cover art and tracklist below.
PRISMASSIVE EP art
PRISMASSIVE cassette tracklist
SIDE A
1. Intro (Keith Speaks)
2. Funky Rave Hits
3. Ya Tu Sabes
4. Devil Lady
5. Dick
6.Ghettoblaster*
7.Testin’ My Raver*
SIDE B
1. Rave Moon*
2. Blades of Steel*
3. Rock ’Em Sock ’Em*
4. Beelzebub*
5. Get Ready To Die*
6. LYAOF*
* previously released track