Any regular readers will notice something odd about this post - this album has just been released today, and normally I'm about three or four years behind the times. I like to give albums time to sit, and spend a bit of time with them before committing to writing about them. On top of that, I've also got a huge backlog to work through. A while ago Specialist Subject put together a guide for "supporting bands in the streaming age", which got me thinking - I'm not the proponent of new music I was once was; I don't go to as many gigs as I used to (I have a baby now who takes up a lot of my time - time I'm very happy to give) and I don't feel the same connection to the DIY music scene as I did when I was living in Cardiff or Kingston. I'm also 34 and still finding important bands from the mid-90's I've not properly explored yet (I recently heard Copper Blue by Sugar for the first time - what a record!). But I was lucky enough to get sent a stream of the new Witching Waves album (for review! Like a proper website!) and it inspired me to change things up a bit. So here's a first - a review of an album on the day of release.
I was introduced to Witching Waves in what I suspect is the same way a lot of other people of a certain background were - they played last summer with Jonah Matranga, filling the shoes of the other Far members as Jonah toured Water & Solutions for its 20th anniversary. I've been a fan of Far for nearly longer than I haven't, and was very excited to see the show (I was always more of a Tin Cans man, but can definitely understand why W&S is the album that gets the most praise). I hadn't heard of Witching Waves before that point, but saw them play twice that night - once as themselves, once as Far. Both sets were great, albeit in vastly different ways - there are few ways you could compare the band to Far, other than that they have a guitar, bass and drums, and both play music people would very broadly define as "rock". However, both versions worked for me.
I was a bit surprised I hadn't heard of Witching Waves before, but I began to wonder if there was a London scene that operated almost independently of bands I'd been around, which seemed to be based around South Wales, Exeter and Leeds (given the spread of those locations, you could forgive me for thinking I had a good grasp on the "UK scene"). The fact that this album is out on (Bristol- and formerly Exeter-based) Specialist Subject Records suggests that these things aren't happening as independently as I'd thought. Maybe I'm just out of the loop.
I'd enjoyed Witching Waves that night and quickly went to Bandcamp to check out a new song when this album was announced. Except they hadn't premiered any at that point, so I couldn't excitedly listen to any. When I got sent through the stream for review, I played it because I wanted to hear it not necessarily because I thought about reviewing it with any urgency. On that first listen I decided it was something I should write about, and on the many subsequent listens I just wanted to tell everyone about how great it is. This album is very good, and I've played those mp3s a lot in the last two months.
For me, the greatest thing about this album is how the band manages to switch between who is singing at the exact perfect point every time. Post-punk does have a tendency to rely on repetition, which is why its so pleasing that whenever you think they're about to fall into a moment of over-repetition, Emma and Mark will swap who is singing (or all sing) and it'll suddenly sound fresh and exciting. I can't emphasise enough how well timed this always is - it's not enough that's it's different, it's also because each time I think "yes, that was the exact perfect moment to switch it up". Listen to Best of Me or Melt it Down and tell me the change in singer isn't at the exact moment you wanted it to be. A while ago a friend told me about a hire car he had that had an indicator telling you when to change gear and how annoying it was that it always seemed timed such that it told you after you've already decided to change gear. Persistence would be the equivalent of a car that tells you change gear and you think "fuck, that was a good time to change". I feel like a better writer might have started with such an analogy, but this isn't Pitchfork. The closer Waiting For the Sun is one of the highlights and a great way to end the record. Strong vibes of The Ex throughout, which is always a positive in my book.
I ordered a copy straight away and get to maintain the idea that this blog is me writing about my record collection. It's nice to finally hear it playing on my hifi rather than just as a set of mp3s. I genuinely recommend this album and would love to see the band get the praise they deserve for it.
Format: 12", picture sleeve
Tracks: 10
Cost: £25 new
Bought: Specialist Subject Records
When: 05/04/19
Colour: Yellow
Etching: none
mp3s: Download code
