The Wytches Tour & Interview with Weirds

A tour from The Wytches seems rare and only having seen them a couple of times before I was keen to jump on tickets for two stops on this tour. The inherently British, tripped out, empty sounding band don't fall into a category easily with inspiration coming from underground metal bands they fall into their own genre 'surf-doom' which DIY explained as 'hypnotic riffs and drowning vocals".

Grits were the first band to climb through the tiny doorway onto the cramped stage at The Boileroom. It looked like we were watching a drunk uncle who'd roped in a couple of mates to play in a band with him but but for such a small local venue with a regular older crowd I was more the odd-one-out than they were. It was very loud and heavy perhaps they weren't in the right sized venue but I'm sure they could easily fit in on a slot at RandL's pit stage. It wasn't what I'd listen to and I wouldn't pay to see them again but they may well be your thing.

Weirds came next, Leeds' psych grunge monster, and they certainly looked like a bunch of freaks. Shirts were ripped off, the vocalist was heavily salivating, pits were started and ended by the frontman, there wasn't a moments rest - everything was go-go-go. The crowd really weren't prepared for this. They're less acquainted with the South but touring with The Wytches has definitely got them some new fans down here. Old and new, the whole set was greeted with fresh ears as it seemed no one knew them, but every riff married to every psych synth and funky base line got everyone deeper and deeper in love with them. Their latest release, single ‘Phantom’, is a bit more pop than previous work but it really hit it off with the crowd and looking back is arguably their best release to date. Personal favourite Yolk, closely followed by Crocodile weren't on the list but I'm sure they would have got us all into a similar aggressive trance as Valley Of Vision did. Visually, they all had their own personal styles and it was nice to see that they weren't trying to put themselves into a more marketable box and they really cared about the music, adjusting everything until it was perfect. And although at times the vocalist was drowned out by the lead guitar, it made a nice contrast having the instruments take over the fuzzy distorted voice at times and him regaining the spotlight at others. Definitely ones to look out for in 2017, they're really about to explode in a dreamy fury.

Weirds setlist:

Things That Crawl

Phantom

Old World Blues

Valley of Vision

Past Life

Blood Test

Weird Sun

When The Wytches blessed us with their presence half of me wanted to drop to the floor and surrender myself and the other half of me wanted to rip up everyone in my path. Their crowd is unique in a similar way to the garden, full of doom and gloom appearances but actually a lot of positive creatives. They forced out their fuzz-heavy-sex-metal-noise concoction with Darker and much loved Who Rides and although their sets could have done with the addition of Crest of Death, Cough/Cool or Burn Out The Bruise as well as the songs they no longer play live, Crying Clown and Digsaw, it did flow seamlessly from one song to the next and we didn't feel cheated by a short set. They've recently added their newly permanent 4th member Mark Breed and it made a big improvement to the connection between members whereas prior to his permanence, the band seemed a bit disconnected to each other. As always, Kristian gave us everything he had and the 4 piece really didn't hold back in any way shape or form. As much as it is about the music, they do really perform for the crowd in their own isolated, hair over their face kind of way. Also, we overheard a conversation with their manager prior to the Guildford gig, their next steps sound exciting, heavier and cassettes were words that popped up and we're hoping they make a few festival appearances this summer.

The Wytches setlist at The Boileroom:

She's So Far Out

Ghost House

Darker

Can't Show How

Bone-Weary

Wastybois

Gravedweller

Holy Tightrope

Who Rides

Throned

Wide At Midnight

C-side

Robe For Juda

The Wytches setlist at The Facebar:

Can't Show How

Darker

C-side

Bone Weary

Gravedweller

Who Rides

Holy tightrope

Beehive Queen

Wide At Midnight

Feeling We Get

Ghost House

Horseback

Robe For Juda

After the shows we caught up with Weirds' frontman Aidan Razzall:

-What should we expect from the album that’s coming out next month?

We set out to write a dark and heavy psychedelic album that people could do dance to. I think it might surprise some people too, as it has a mellower, softer side which is something we quite consciously wanted to include.

-Who are your biggest influences?

Probably the bands that first made us want to pick up instruments, Nirvana, Slowdive, Kyuss. Basically all the bands that were around when we were kids.

-When you supported The Wytches we came to the Guildford gig and Reading, what do think the biggest difference was between the two?

At the Guildford show we had a few technical problems which hindered our show a little, but we still enjoyed it. It was the first date of the tour and you have to account for things going wrong. In Reading, it was a few shows in and we were more into our stride. It was one of our favourite shows on the tour so far. We feel very lucky to be playing in front of The Wytches fans as they're extremely loyal, but also open to new bands too.

-Does the crowd’s reaction have a big impact on how you play?

We give every show the same effort and intensity regardless of the amount of people there or whether they are enjoying it. But it would be foolish to say that when the crowd are really engaging with the band, and the show is busy, that that doesn't impact your performance.

-What's your favourite song to perform

I really enjoy playing some of the new songs from the album, 'Things that Crawl' and 'Past Life' in particular. I can't speak for everyone but i think we enjoy playing 'Weird Sun' a lot. It's the final song in the set and live we play a really extended aggressive version that has a few different sections in it. We often bring our drums and guitars into the crowd for that song as well, it gets quite primal and loud.

-What gets you up in the mornings?

I am awful at getting up in the mornings. Lots of black coffee.

-Dead or alive, who would you love to tour with?

I would love to tour with The Black Angels.