Witch Fever
Fevereaten
Music For Nations
Witch Fever is a band we’ve followed since their first single, and the growth in this band has been an organic evolution that blossomed from angry punky doom through to a suggestion of deeper, darker, more brooding pastures on previous tracks like ‘Congregation’ from their debut album of the same name. Fevereaten is the sound of an exploration on those themes and the realisation of uncharted territories, and a band emboldened and confident. Opening noise rock salvo ‘Dead To Me’ sees Amy Walpole in fine vitriolic form, centering her ire at the church once again, but giving it a final send off. Whilst the spidery ‘Final Girl’ wraps its dark wings around you before exploding into a full layered stomp to its climax. Stand out single ‘The Garden’ possesses a chorus that you’ll be humming for days and is definitely marked out as a live anthem.
It’s here we see Witch Fever truly becoming the fully realised form they’ve hinted at previously. ‘North Star’ showcases Alex’s rich bass times and soaring post-punk guitar work from Alisha, the band roaring and gliding as a unit, dancing around one another. ‘Drank The Sap’s closing mosh out is a headbanging joy, whilst ‘Safe’ sounds at times like a lost track by The Cure musically and Amy’s sweet melodies surge into another chorus for the ages. The breadth of Witch Fever’s vision on this album is truly a joy to behold, with every member putting in performances that stamp their sound in block capitals into your psyche. Alex’s mournful cello outro on the aforementioned track is a beautiful touch. Title track Fevereaten slow burns to the best gnarly guitar tone this side of Melvins. The fuck yeah moments come in the form of Amy’s mosh call at the end of ‘Reprise’ where she shouts, “WITCH FUCKING FEVER”, switches your headbang function to full and the beautiful stylistic swerve of ‘Amber’ where Witch Fever channels their inner Kim Deal to awesome effect.
As the ending assault of ‘I See It ‘deconstructs into fuzzed-out bass drone and static crackling, you honestly feel like you’ve been on a journey, much as you would after watching a David Fincher film. It’s an album that will have you rocking outwards and inwards, and the sound of a band truly becoming. Essential.
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Reviewed By George Miller