Annabel Dream Reader: The Wytches’ Recipe
By Cee Cee Hill
The Wytches are a British band from Brighton formed in 2011 and comprised of Kristian Bell, Dan Rumsey and Gianni Honey. They play what they ironically call “surf doom.” The mixture of rhythms, complemented by heavy guitar, poetic lyrics and the raucous voice of Kristian, create a gorgeous wall of sound.
I suspect that to create this record, the three of them met up in the studio one evening under a full moon. They gathered around a boiling cauldron and threw in the following ingredients:
- 2 pints of hardcore
- 1 cup of surf
- 3 clown tears
- 1 newt’s tail
- 2 bat wings
- 1 root of mandrake
At midnight, they danced naked and invoked the spirits of Edgar Allan Poe and Kurt Cobain, then recorded Annabel Dream Reader in a burst of creativity lasting only two days. Buy this record, then play it backward and see what spirits you can channel. – (9/10)
Read our Q&A withe Kristian from the Wytches