This week,
The Wytches played to a sold-out crowd at Scala, King’s Cross. I first listened to the band in early 2014, but after not paying much attention to them I thought they were ‘too screamy’... the kind of band you only really listen to when you’re in the bath and your hands are too wet to skip on Spotify. They’re actually far from scream, and their catchy pre-album release
Gravedweller was the song that changed my view on the band. I had anticipated a good crowd after booking tickets to see them almost six months before the actual event (which for me feels like quite a long time for a gig of this size); turns out they actually sold out the venue, since releasing their hit album
Annabel Dream Reader. I hadn’t seen anything at Scala before, but after seeing it for the first time on Wednesday it depresses me that I’ve missed so many gigs here; the sound is great and it has a good level of intimacy for a heavier band like The Wytches.
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| Blonde Bunny |
Doors opened at seven, but we arrived about eight – mid way through the first support act,
Blonde Bunny, which I have to say were slightly odd. The lead singer floated around the stage in a pair of tight-wasted black bell bottom trousers and a cream silky shirt, with what sounded almost like animal noises echoing in the background. I can find no faults in the second support,
Telegram, who did their job at vamping up the crowd fantastically, and I liked that there wasn't a massive wait between all the acts.
The Wytches easily lived up to expectations. They sent the predominantly-male crowd into a frenzied
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| An awful photo - apologies |
crush straight away; being towards the right side I got the end-slam of every chain of shoves, but I managed to make my way to the front during
Burn Out The Bruise, another one of my favourites. Slammed against the barrier, I succeeded to snap a few pictures but it was great to finally go to an event where there were no audience members whose sole purpose was to film the whole set. Long-locked lead singer Kristian Bell didn’t run out of energy, and even on the more heartfelt numbers he had a sound that was almost exactly the same as on the album. But my favourite moment of the night was the build-up in
Summer Again, where the song transforms from an almost delicate tune to a heartfelt rant of break-up trauma, although I may be biased to my old Wytches favourites.
The set felt quite short, but it was actually an hour. My only complaint was the lack of encore and that they didn’t play
Wire Frame Mattress, but apart from that the Brighton trio (who seem a bit solitary in their surf-psych genre) have certainly proved that they can put on a show. They sold out Scala, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them sell out much larger venues.
My favourite Wytches songs: Digsaw, Burn Out the Bruise, Summer Again
For listeners of: Slaves, Gnarwolves
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