Pocahaunted

Article: Published in NARC Magazine, June 2009.



Occupying a particularly mystic part of LA's grungey experimental scene, the duo of Pocahaunted (Amanda and Bethany) are one of the most prolific. The self proclaimed “Olsen twins of drone” (because one dresses like a crazy and one like a fancy) play hallowed and spacious desert ballads, usually stretching out beyond the ten minute mark for all-absorbing feel. Often driven by plodding and distant tom drums, they tie dye dark soundscapes with vibrant colours, way off melodies and smouldered atmosperics.

“I think we just aim to have a final product that is somewhat modern-sounding mixed with something tribal- and antique-sounding. In our personal lives, we both listen to mostly older music, so I think we tend to draw from what it is we listen to. We both have very eclectic tastes in what we listen to, which essentially is the reason we change so much. We have so many influences and so many things we want to try.”

Working on a mostly improvised basis, their pride in “being a band that changes” makes sense across an oeuvre that at times focuses on dub (Island Diamonds) or “dark raga” (Mirror Mics) or tribal soul, like last year's Chains. The soul part is true, coming out particularly in Amanda's wandering and melodic vocals, but it's also backed by a super realized aesthetic, obsessed with both pop culture (dark New Age shit, Patrick Dempsey) as much as ancient histories and human emotion.

“Our aesthetic is really important to us” says Bethany. “If we were just our band making music and putting it out there with no mystique, we’d be utterly forgettable and boring. Our art helps us, like our personalities help us.”

“Also, we’re women” adds Amanda” “and so I think to not rest on the weird laurels of Bethany’s beautiful goddess voice, we want a bit of spook or mystery. Sometimes I think we’re performance art.”

That'd certainly be true on both recordings and their live set, blurring the lines between conventional pop and sound art. In doing so, they recall a variety of their peers (such as Christina Carter, Robedoor, Magic Lantern or Inca Ore) as well as a varied range of classic hits and a bunch of weird old esoterica. Most recently, Passage, with it's Fleetwood Mac-style retrograde art work calls on a couple of their good pals, Bobb Bruno and Cameron Stallones, the latter of which plays as more tropical lo-fi project Sun Araw (with whom they're touring the UK with). It's their fullest sounding yet, sensual and smoked out.

Even if they often joke about sometimes feeling like they 'just play to dirty guys' (in the holey tshirt/DIY sense), there lo-fi explorations, while admittedly totally flannel or ripped denim, are powerfully feminine.