aaamusic | On 22, Aug 2011

Ghoulish is the second -and first posthumous- single to be taken from the late former X-Ray Spex singer Poly Styrene. The singer died in April of this year.

Having already gained legendary status within the punk genre as having an overtly feminist stance and a raw sound. Since going solo in 1980 her career has been full of peaks and troughs but through all she has remained a sharp-witted singer continuing to inspire a future generations.

Whilst Ghoulish is a departure from her raw punk roots in as much as it has much more production with the music sounding slightly like a Jesus and Mary Chain record but without the distortion and feedback. What I found most annoying about the track is how the vocals rest so low in the mix making it very difficult to hear what she’s saying and when you have a lyricist as talented as her it seems a shame you have to strain to listen to what she’s got to say.

Lyrical the song almost come across as being a tale of morals within each gender calling on the attitudes and fashion of today’s youth as ‘ghoulish’. And with the recent events in the news this seems to be a well timed release.

In keeping with Poly’s worldview it focuses more on the female of the species and rather than being a bland two-dimensional moaning about ‘the good ol’ days’ she is calling for the youth to show some respect for themselves and her lyrical tactile nature allows her to do this without preaching to them but rather talking with them, not at them.

 

Author: Barry Gray