L.A. WITCH - “DOGGOD” REVIEW
Written by Beau Croxton
L.A. WITCH by Rhyan Santos
L.A. WITCH follows up the fantastic Play With Fire by delivering another knockout with the dark and hypnotic DOGGOD.
L.A. WITCH has been on the rise for quite a while. Their buzzy 2017 self-titled debut saw the band show their teeth and their sophomore album, Play With Fire, was a highly consistent scorcher that proved the band was beyond the real deal. On their first album in 5 years, L.A. WITCH returns in new armor to triple down on that notion.
If the band’s last record Play with Fire was a red-hot California garage-punk & rock-and-roll affair, then their new third album DOGGOD is a dark, icy and blue record of post-punk and goth influence; and it is equally fantastic. Recorded in Paris, this record thematically revels in the more extreme levels of love and devotion.
“Icicle” opens sparsely with new-wave guitar flourishes and seductive vocals and when the speedy drums and bass take off we are fully immersed in the ethereal gothic carousel of DOGGOD. Right off the bat, L.A. Witch exudes the casual cool factor of their previous records while fully adopting this new gothic sonic highway. “Icicle” immediately suggests that we are further away from the Gun Club and Cramps influence of the band’s past releases and into a new realm that is much closer to Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure and Joy Division. “Kiss Me Deep” is infectious and features stuttering rhythms and doubles down on the swagger from "Icicle”. A bass bridge leads into an awesome surfy guitar solo that swirls amid a dark energy and a gothic hypnotic pulse. Singer/Guitarist Sade Sanchez introduces a poetic spoken word vocal style here that frequents the record. When these spoken word moments happen, there is a theatrical dark energy, almost like someone in a horror movie is reciting cryptic things at a ritual. Sade totally has the “Lou Reed effect”; where she can say something simple or mysterious and sound so profound.
L.A. WITCH’s psychedelia comes in a highly different form on this record. The band’s psychedelia in their last few releases felt a bit more like The Brian Jonestown Massacre in the desert, but on DOGGOD the hazy psych they conjure feels like a haunting spectral presence that looms over a medieval Parisian castle. The band got their hands on some flanger and chorus guitar pedals, a Solina string ensemble and a Roland VP330 to spice up their new ghostly gothic vibe. With the significant shift in sound, there is a very intimate, raw and live-in-the-room sound on this record. The garage-rock heart of the band remains prominent due to this and it feels like they are cutting this album right there with you in real time as the record spins.
Lead single “777” comes in hot with a punky and cracking beat paired with an insistent guitar riff, which immediately turns this track into quite the toe-tapping goth-garage dance party. You can practically see the bobbing heads of long black hair draped over faces rocking out to “777” at the goth function. Sanchez stutters her words on the chorus in an effortlessly cool way - “Hold..on..to..your..bloodlust mind, does glory lead to our demise?” Themes of devotion and dying for love have never felt more badass thanks to “777”. Shout out to all the romantics out there. “777” is an anthem and the first three tracks on DOGGOD are all gas, no brakes for quite the hat trick.
Things become a little more hazy and smokey on the next two tracks.”I Hunt You Prey”slows things down with fuzzy bass and a downtempo groove. Vocals haunt with lyrics like “Smell of blood/ you’ve left behind/ Scent so intertwined.” It’s a meditative trance track that sucks you further into its hypnosis with each measure. Around the 4 minute mark, some ghostly synths creep in the background to glide the tune into the next. “Eyes of Love” has an optimistic and melodic hook that deconstructs into much moodier spoken word verses, which feel more like poetry readings in a gothic cathedral than Sanchez’s usual delivery.
DOGGOD Album Artwork by Alexander Barton, out now on Suicide Squeeze Records
Bassist Irita Pai opens “The Lines” with a very post-punk-y and thudding bass. From there, it shifts into a song of many detours that continue to get more fantastic as they go. While the vocals drive the attitude, the instrumentals are the takeoff point. Sanchez rips through a brilliant display of surf-y guitar leads and harmonics with fast tremolo picking to make for some of the most outstanding guitar work on the record. Experimental organ melodies gleam through the track making the atmosphere here feel spooky, dark and downright awesome; it feels like a true quest through the castle. “Lost at Sea” is a gorgeous slow-burn noir with excellent vocal reverb. Beautiful synth sounds radiate through the middle of this track like a beacon of light in the dark. Of the slow-burn tracks on DOGGOD, “Lost at Sea” may be the most enchanting.
The title track “DOGGOD” rips down the door like some snarling bastard cousin of a Play With Fire track; it's a seriously scuzzy and mean rocker that comes armed with the dark energy present throughout this record. Ethereal keys dance over the mix on a triumphant chorus progression as Sade chants “DOGGOD” in her most possessed and monotone delivery; it's a truly cathartic moment of badassery that feels like they are celebrating just how awesome the album is. Sanchez unleashes quite a screaming banshee of a guitar solo over the celebratory chorus progression. This title track sums up the group’s trademark tough energy and ends in a brilliant wall of distorted delay. “SOS” feels like a Part Two to the title track - it is a perfect ender that has classic L.A. WITCH attitude and extends the irresistible toughness of the previous rocker. “SOS” has some of the best drumming as well - drummer Ellie English delivers some aggressive Keith Moon-like drum fills. The 1-2 punch of the title track and SOS mark a highly rewarding end to an already great and tight 32 minute album. In a record that holds a lot of slow burn tension, “DOGOD” into “SOS” feels like a sonically cathartic release for the listener- it totally goes out with a bang.
It’s nice to see a kick-ass garage rock-n-roll band expand their horizons in various hues, but it’s even more exciting to hear them do so just as successfully as their core sound. DOGGOD is a dark and defiant success- the band consistently carries the same effortlessly cool attitude and top notch quality that is apparent in their best work. Same bad beast, fascinating new armor. A different kind of GOD mode.
Occult’s Highlights: 777, DOGGOD, Icicle, The Lines, Kiss Me Deep
(….but you should spin the whole album while sitting in the cemetery & hexing the haters)