Review: Kepi and Friends – “Full Moon Forever”

Pirates Press Records – 20 Jan 2023

Kepi Ghoulie and a couple of famous friends somehow deliver a fun batch of dirges.

Any punk fan who hasn’t been living under a rock for the last 30 years is undoubtedly familiar with the Groovie Ghoulies, and by extension their horror loving frontman Kepi Ghoulie. Kepi, whose name has taken on a singularity usually reserved for the Madonnas and Princes of the world, is also one of the hardest working guys in punkdom. After an impressive string of solo and collaborative releases on some of pop punk’s most beloved labels, including Stardumb, Eccentric Pop, Surfin’ Ki and Asian Man, Kepi and Friends have landed on Pirates Press Records. 

This connection was likely made through drummer Ara Babajian, whose main gig is with long-time Pirates Press alums The Slackers. Bass player B-Face, best known for being part of The Queers’ “classic lineup”, was labelmates with Kepi way back in the golden era of Lookout! Records. When the time came to record Full Moon Forever, the newly formed trio looked to another Lookout! favorite, Mass Giorgini and his Sonic Iguana Studios. 

The tracklist on Full Moon Forever reads like a depressed college student’s 1980s mixtape, but somehow manages to be a ton of fun. All 12 songs are covers, and none of them would really qualify as punk songs. Instead, the source material covers a wide range from goth to glitter, and from art rock to new wave. The common thread would be a tangible sense of darkness, a melancholy that’s evident even in the revved up versions of the songs. 

A punky version of Davis Bowie’s 1977 hit “Heroes” leads things off, and The Cars’ 1981 hit “Since You’re Gone” starts side B. Many of the other songs are likely to be less familiar to the general public. The arrangements are simple but powerful, bridging ‘60s garage rock, ‘80s college rock and three chord punk. The bare bones guitar, bass and drums formula is only sparingly augmented by harmonica or keyboard. Kepi’s voice has a natural sort of twang that gives the songs just a little bit of snotty swagger, and rescues them from getting overly dour.

The Cure are represented by a pair of songs, but not necessarily the ones you’d expect. The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Happy When It Rains” has a similar vibe. Iggy Pop’s “Take Care of Me” pulsates with a raw power. (Pun intended.) Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Lou Reed feel obvious, while Stiv Bators’ post Dead Boys band Lords of the New Church and T. Rex are pleasant surprises. Mazzy Star‘s “Flowers In December” sounds like a bastard son of Neil Young and Violent Femmes. The best song might be the minor 1989 Peter Murphy (of Bauhaus, of course) hit “Cuts You Up”. 

This is a slightly more subdued, but no less entertaining Kepi. His 2011 solo album was called I Bleed Rock ‘N’ Roll, and Full Moon Forever is just more definitive proof of that proclamation. While it can be dissected into bits of cold wave or horror punk or whatever, at the end of the day it’s just a great, very listenable rock and roll record.

For vinyl fiends: The first pressing is limited to 1000 pieces on neon violet wax. The artwork is great, and sets the tone for the music. There’s also a printed inner sleeve, and the typical Pirates Press attention to detail. Groovie Ghoulies fans will also be happy to learn that the label is working on reissuing the band’s back catalog, starting with the 1996 Lookout! classic World Contact Day.