With a name like The Wytches and being a metal fan, I expected the album Our Guest Can’t Be Named to have a metal sound but what I received was far from it and it was absolutely delightful.
Flowing throughout Our Guest Can’t Be Named are gritty and mammoth guitar riffs, slick bass lines, heavy drums, and sombre vocals that tether between a wonderful sense of gloom and doom, but filled with this undying hope.
The Wytches are Kristian Bell (vocals/guitar), Daniel Rumsey (bass), Mark Breed (guitar/keyboard), Demelza Mather (drums) and on their latest studio experience, Kristian says,
About 20 minutes after we finished the last session for this record, a capacitor exploded in the tape machine. We were recording during the heatwave and I think the machine just had enough. It seemed like a good time to finish.
The finished project, Our Guest Can’t Be Named out Alcopop! Records was recorded with Luke Oldfield at Tilehouse Studios in July 2022 and Kristian explains,
The main theme for this album is the loss of identity. The pandemic kind of sucked the innocence out of a lot of things for me. It seemed to really put the nail in the coffin of certain connections that were already kind of fading out before the whole thing started, so that fed the inspiration for the lyrics.
That loss can be heard throughout the album’s sound. Moments of piano driven sadness in “Sloped Old Tower” to title track “Our Guest Can’t Be Named” with its brooding bass, crashing drums, and swampy guitars. But it’s not just the heavy and sludgy sounds that make the album, but the lyrics themselves. They’re full of emotions and showcased through Kristian’s voice with heartfelt honesty.
MUST LISTEN TRACKS: “Zep Step”, “Our Guest Can’t Be Named”, “Bats”, “Bill Blood”, “Fool”
FAVOURITE TRACKS: “Sloped Old Tower”, “Our Guest Can’t Be Named”, “Bill Blood”
Live Dates:
OCTOBER
Wed 25th Oct UK, Manchester, YES Pink Room
Thu 26th Oct UK, Bristol, Dareshack
Fri 27th Oct UK, London, The Dome
Sat 28th Oct UK, Brighton, Green Door Store
NOVEMBER
Tue 07th Nov – France, Lille, L’Aeronef
Wed 08th Nov – France, Paris, Petit Bain
Thu 09th Nov – France, Strasbourg, Petit Bain
Fri 10th Nov – France, Reims, La Cartonnerie
Sat 11th Nov – France, Rouen, 106
