Here’s a piece I recently wrote for Vulture Hound. Find it on the site here: http://vulturehound.co.uk/2016/09/the-wytches-all-your-happy-life-album-review/
The Wytches have come full throttle with their second album All Your Happy Life, taking on a grungey note of psychedelia and inviting us in to a warped world of mayhem. With main inspiration coming from their changed perspective of English life, seeing it in a new light since the release of their debut (Annabel Dream Reader) in 2014, this album comes across as an exploration of a newer self. From intensified guitar and enraged vocals to slower, slacker-rock, The Wytches rock all over the place, in a mishap manner that only they can pull off.
‘C-Side’ plunges us into the fuzzy state of affairs that awaits us, with menacing riffs and those ever so slightly uneasy vocals that at first may seem a bit rash, particularly for those new to the band. However, when it’s very much part of a specialised package, contributing to the dark manner of The Wytches, it goes down a treat.
The album goes into a whirlwind of delicious rage, with the fantastically gloomy ‘Throned’, in which the guitar work is on fire; a phenomenal moment that calls for the utmost level of attention. Following this are a number of haunting tones of remorse, with slow and moody melody thrown in here and there, and one or two grinding, dark outros. ‘Dumb-Fill’ stands out with an unusually twee little tune, but it’s not without that gnarly Wytches twang to keep it sludgey. Final track ‘Home’ is probably the most beautiful, somewhat soothing track of the bunch, peaking the dynamic of the record as the coarse vocals soften out towards the close.
This album is definitely an interesting one. So much so, it may not work in any old situation, but that’s just fine. Rather it is quite purposeful, there’s a certain air to All Your Happy Life that caters for a specific moment, a particular need. By no means easy listening, this is an album that forces itself to the forefront of any situation, involving the listener with the artist; we are one with them, we are seeing their true colours, there is nothing to hide behind. Complex and riddled with plenty of musical paths that wind this way and that, this album will turn heads and get people talking. Whether you love or hate it, All Your Happy Life is as insightful as it is bold, a spark of anarchy that quite frankly, doesn’t give a damn.
4/5
All Your Happy Life is out now via Heavenly Recordings.
SAMANTHA MAE 