After a long break following their second album ‘All Your Happy Life,‘ and an even longer break since their debut ‘Annabel Dream Reader,’ The Wytches have finally returned with a third effort, called ‘Three Mile Ditch,’ which they believe to be the ‘best yet’ as they state themselves, announcing the news on their instagram page. While the news will not come as a surprise to some of their fans, many of whom will have tuned into their halloween performance which was livestreamed in IGTV on the last day of October, it will certainly be welcome news to those eager to get their hands on a pre-ordered vinyl copy, especially now that we are in lockdown once again.
The Brighton Surf-Doom rockers have righteous pride in this new work which has all the sinister edge and grizzly snarl of their debut with an even spookier halloween feel in tracks like ‘Cowboy,’ which have the atmosphere of a cowboy zombie apocalypse. The trio have always had a dark, despondent outlook and their music reflects this. However, until now they always seemed out of step with the world in their darkness. Now The Wytches are oddly comparable with the mood of the times, the dark and shadowy wails which they have been making since 2014 are likely very similar to the noises circulating through the minds of all of us trapped in this global nightmare.
Although tracks from the album have been available to listen to on Bandcamp for a little while now, the coming of the official release day will be the cause of much excitement amongst die hard fans of the band who are part of a very special movement, the vinyl revival. The Wytches fit into that unique category of Brighton bands in the Indie or Alternative journal which attract the type of fans who are true believers in the ideology of vinyl superiority over all mediums, as well as a good understanding of the economic nightmare which faces artists trying to live on streaming royalties alone.
Fans of the band are also the type of niche hipster who maintains a very particular nostalgic fondness for cassette tapes. While they must admit to themselves that the sound quality on a cassette is hardly a good enough reason on its own to invest in the dated technology, there is a certain blocky charm to the things and they have a nice satisfying feel in the hands. Cassette tapes, vinyl as well as CDs, T-shirts and Art prints are all available for super fans to purchase directly from the band on their Bandcamp profile, which is one of the best sites out their for ensure that the artists get a fair share of the revenue from their creative works.
In fact, Bandcamp has on a number of occasions chosen to waive their revenue share of sales made on the site meaning that artists get every penny of every sale made on such days.The album can also be purchased on vinyl or CD from independent record stores such as Brighton’s Resident Records.
