The Wytches: greasy sound that matters
Alejandro De Luna
Tired and upset with the complacent and digestible music scene in England, three renegades living in the not so warm English coast of Brighton give us a dirtier and more interesting glance of what is happening on the island. They look bad (fulfilling its purpose) and they sound awfully good. The Wytches is an amalgam of influences built on sixties garage, the foulest psych-surf and horror punk. If you are looking for immediate references, they sound like The Artic Monkeys on acid and with distorted layers of the aforementioned genres. Something much more interesting.
This greasy and noisy sound in The Wytches is carried out mainly through the talent of Kristian Bell, vocalist and guitarist of this nauseating English trio. His voice could be the sound of Alex Turner, Lux Interior, Cobain and Daniel Johnston altogether and his guitar offers layers of psychedelic distortion filled with wild reverbs.
Some tracks to consider. Listen to “Robe For Judah”, one of their most violent songs. “Beehive Queen”, with a riff that could be the soundtrack of spaghetti western films. “Digsaw”, pure psychedelia with a voice reminiscent of the most transgressive side of Kurt Cobain. “Tricks and Dance”, full of lo-fi and unsettling screams or “Riding On Horseback in the Desert ” where Bell flirts with a guitar solo that will remind you of Iggy & The Stooges.
You can think of The Sonics, The Kingsmen, The Jay- Jays, the horror -punk of The Cramps, The Cynics or a long list of bands that are required references in the genre but what is surprising with The Wytches, is that they are just not a teenager British band who want to copy the sound of their predecessors. Clearly the influences are there but they do have an original sound. They are different, they are angry and they do not mind in fitting into little overrated music scenes.
They currently have an EP, a single with a pair of B-sides and a couple of additional songs, including a cover of Ace Of Base that surprisingly sounds good.
It seems that bands like Temples, Thee Oh Sees and The Growlers have a new member on board but with an even dirtier and louder sound and with the mission to revive one of the most interesting periods in the unclean and impure career of rock n’roll.
A band worthy to keep an eye on them.
http://www.thewytches.com
http://www.soundcloud.com/thewytches
http://www.thewytches.bandcamp.com
