Witching Waves at Joy of Violent Movement

If you had been frequenting JOVM over the past month or so you may recall that I wrote about  London-based indie rock trio Witching Waves. Comprised of Emma Wigwam, Mark Jasper and Ed Shellard, the trio emerged from London’s DIY scene with a tense sound consisting of angular guitar chords, propulsive drumming and anthemic hooks reminiscent of 90s alternative rock as you might remember from “Twister” off the band’s latest effort Crystal Cafe. Sonically, the song sounds as though it draws equally from WireGang of Four and Sleater -Kinney — while lyrically, focusing on the contemporary, modern condition. And as a result, the song evokes the sensation of constant tumult, uncertainty and danger, desperate alienation, stagnation and misdirected anger. It’s being pissed off and not always understanding why or how — and not knowing where to direct it because you’re so angry all the time over everything and nothing.

Crystal Cafe‘s latest single “The Threat” has the band pairing scorching guitar chords, rumbling bass, propulsive drumming and anthemic hooks with ethereal and melodic vocals to craft a song that sounds deeply indebted to Pixies, 90s alt rock and toThe Mallard‘s exceptional Finding Meaning in Deference — in other words, the song is tense and bristles with an anxious frustration.  And interestingly enough, the recently released music video for the song is an equally tense and ominous video that follows a woman, who’s being chased by demonic creatures, who also perform satanic-like rituals.

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