The Wytches - "Our Guest Can't Be Named"

Dark and brooding, but not witchy

The Wytches are a British Indie Rock band who, despite their name, don’t really provide what I would call ‘witchy’ vibes. However, that isn’t to say that there isn’t some delicious darkness here. They’re frequently described as Surf Rock, which is a subgenre I’m not terribly familiar with. Still, you can hear some of that “California” sound peeking through here and there, especially in the guitar lines. Their sound, at least on this record, is more thoroughly defined by the Punk, Doom, Psychedelic, and Sludge elements which blend into this incredibly moody, grungy, heavy rock atmosphere. So while the album doesn’t sound ‘witchy’, as I was hoping, it could definitely soundtrack the tale of, say, a dark sorcerer.

So the title still feels somewhat apt, at least in terms of sound.

The instrumentation, throughout the album, is fairly deep and complex. There’s always something interesting to listen to on each track, including tons of accidentals and the occasional time change.

There’s a lot of weight, as well, in the instrumentation. It’s heavy, but incredibly vibey, especially on tracks like “Bats”. Rarely does it feel like the band is in any sort of “attack mode”; fans of Doomgaze might find a lot to love here. This isn’t a Doomgaze album, but it’s very close.

Again, though, it doesn’t have a lot of energy. This is chill music.

Lyrically, the album is still very brooding, but doesn’t quite match the darkness of the atmosphere. Not that lyrics are easy to find; I only actually found lyrics for three of the ten songs. They aren’t on Spotify or the band’s Bandcamp; only the first two songs are on Genius; I found lyrics to the title track on a third-party site.

As a result, I really can’t determine any sort of throughline or theme.

But the album is a solid listen. Especially if you need something to relax and vibe to.

Rating: Teal Green