The Wytches, Scala

Psychedelic surf-rockersThe Wytches to play at Scala on December 3 in support of their debut album.

For the past three years, The Wytches have been developing a unique brand of Halloween-tinged psychadelia. But this year, with the release of their debut album Annabel Dream Reader , they’ve become big news; even the UK government has taken notice, granting them funding as part of the Music Export Growth Scheme.

The Wytches jokingly refer to themselves as a “surf doom” band which, whilst tongue-in-cheek, is a surprisingly accurate description. Tremolo-laden guitars are coated in layers of distortion so deep and murky that you’d be forgiven for thinking you were back in the 1990s, whilst lead singer Kristian Bell’s vocals alternate between plaintive and ferocious. 

But for all their darkness, The Wytches obviously have a sense of humour, revelling in the more ridiculous and excessive aspects of the goth aesthetic. This self-awareness, though, never strays into self-parody, and The Wytches' music strikes  a delicate balance between genuine foreboding and comedic theatricality. 

Their live shows are famed for their energy and intensity, and their music is at once heavy and hypnotic. Not for the faint-hearted, the band are one of the most talked about of 2014, and their debut album one of the year’s most eagerly anticipated. Catch them at Scala on December 3.