ALBUM REVIEW: Wytch Pycknyck – Wytch Pycknyck
“I wanna party with the animals that live in the zoo!” shrieks WYTCH PYCKNYCK’s frontman Malt Jones in the opening seconds of Rawkuss, the first song on the Hastings’ fuzz four-piece’s self-titled debut album. The lyrics – and the song itself – are a statement of intent for sure and one which the band clearly have the energy to follow all the way through to the end of the seven chaotic tracks on offer here.
As that opening line will attest, this is a party album, regardless of whether that party is happening in a zoo or not. WYTCH PYCKNYCK mix a heady brew of psychedelic garage rock with the energy of MOTÖRHEAD and the punky madness of THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS. As a result, they sound like the kind of band your mate hires to play in the garden at a house party, only for the band to destroy every inch of your mate’s house and drink all their beer afterwards. The opening shock of Rawkuss is attention-grabbing to say the least, an almost Dick Dale surf-rock riff leading the charge as the rest of the band tries to keep up, vocals and feedback howling over the top of everything. It sounds like FU MANCHU after a batch of bad speed. In a good way.
Second track Creepin Jesus lowers the energy levels somewhat, settling into a swingy groove that almost sounds like a desert rock AC/DC before the song lurches into a furious punk rock middle eight, Jones and fellow guitarist/vocalist Bonj trading screaming licks that the Young brothers would have been proud to call their own. This one fades out, though, rather than returning to the original riff, which while in-keeping with the DIY feel the band has established, still feels like the energy of the song peters out rather than reaching any sort of explosive conclusion.
Magical Revenge is up next and brings a post-punk vibe to proceedings, with dark, reverb-heavy guitars and angular drumming twisting around each other underneath an angry, desperate vocal delivery that continues to build on the feelings of angst created in the opening two songs. The refrain of “I can’t slow down I can’t stop until I burn myself out” acts almost like a comedown to the joyous party madness of Rawkuss.
Gravity Lies is a more traditional, psychedelic stoner rock epic, complete with mysterious sci-fi inspired spoken word intro. Ewan Fitzgerald’s ominous bassline locks in with Sam Davies’ laid back drum groove to create a sinister sounding verse that builds and builds until exploding into a massive chorus which wouldn’t sound out of place on MONSTER MAGNET’s seminal Spine Of God album. The loose, trashy sound of the overall production (again, not a negative) makes this comparison even more appropriate here.
There is a satisfying looseness to this record which really adds to the garage rock feel of the whole thing – it very much sounds like this was recorded in someone’s shed, half-cut and high, in the space of about three hours. Whilst this isn’t the case (although the tracks were recorded in a mere five days), it very much fits in with the chaos and energy the band bring to their music. It does also mean, though, that sometimes the song structures are a little all over the place, as on Creepin Jesus or the synth-fuelled seven-minute monster that is Fire Breathing Dragon. Closing tracks Columbo No. 5 and Frostbite bring the energy and anger back, though the latter takes a while to get going before hitting its heights during the doomy final four minutes.
As a debut record, though, what Wytch Pycknyck lacks in finesse and focus, it more than makes up for in energy, ideas and riffs. It hints at some very interesting things to come in the future from another exciting new band on the ever-expanding UK doom and stoner circuit.
Rating: 7/10
Wytch Pycknyck is set for release on June 21st via Property Of The Lost Records.
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