The Wytches – ‘Our Guest Can’t Be Named’ album review: A heavy dive into gothic roots
With the nights quickly drawing in, The Wytches couldn’t have picked a better time for the release of their hotly anticipated fourth album, Our Guest Can’t Be Named. Almost ten years on from their debut, Annabel Dream Reader, the band have maintained their recognisable surf-rock-inspired sound, never losing sight of the gloomy sonic palette they do so well. Yet lead vocalist Kristian Bell has honed his lyrical talents and vocal performance, showing significant signs of maturation.
More than ever before, The Wytches seem confident in their abilities as musicians, allowing impressive instrumental codas to end certain tracks, enveloping the listener in a thick wall of sound that feels like the musical equivalent of stepping through the screen of a classic 1950s B-movie horror. Taking cues from vintage surf rock artists, grunge legends like Nirvana and Mudhoney, heavy metal, hardcore and gothic rock, The Wytches have always had a recognisable sound which feels rare to come by in an era increasingly populated by post-punk.
Thus, Our Guest Can’t Be Named proves to be a refreshing record, one that feels full of intense emotion, with Bell stating that “most of the tracks from the new album are based around the loss of identity”. This frustration is felt through enthralling outbursts of heavy, sludgy guitars, deep basslines and throbbing drums, yet there’s a distinctive tenderness that floats underneath, pinned down by the occasional inclusion of melodic backing vocals.
Our Guest Can’t Be Named is The Wytches at their heaviest offering yet, although it does draw parallels to some of the band’s earlier non-album cuts like ‘Who Rides’, ‘Wastybois’ and ‘Darker’. Therefore, it makes sense that the lead single, ‘Maria’, is a years-old track, which the band only now feel ready to unleash. ‘Maria’ is a fantastic song that is led by a simple yet potent riff that gives way to a frantic breakdown of stability.
Meanwhile, the album’s other single, ‘Zep Step’, is one of their greatest releases of recent years, recalling the sound of the Annabel Dream Reader-era without sounding like a mere off-cut. Despite featuring scuzzy guitars that possess a sense of impending doom, the song remains upbeat due to its energetic drums, which thrash about like a fish jumping in and out of water.
As the album continues, the band plays with structure, allowing themselves to enter mellow territory before picking up the pace – sometimes slowing it back down, other times maintaining the instrumental ferocity for the rest of the song. Occasionally, some of the tracks linger in gentle rhythms for a little too long, like ‘Unsure’ and ‘Spark’, subsequently falling into slight complacency.
However, all is redeemed on tracks like ‘Something To Fall Back On’ and ‘Our Guest Can’t Be Named’, which see the band channel their blend of gothic grunge to overwhelming success. Still, on the closing number, ‘Fool’, The Wytches demonstrate their ability to pull off more subdued moments to great effect, creating a distinctively evocative and meditative end to the record.
Our Guest Can’t Be Named highlights The Wytches’ uncompromising dedication to their craft, returning with some of the greatest songs they’ve ever released. While the album might not contain as many memorable cuts as Annabel Dream Reader, it flows with refinement and maturity that could only emerge from years of practice, highlighting The Wytches as a band deserving of much more respect than they receive.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out New Music Newsletter
All the latest New Music from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.