All Them Witches - 'ATW' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Fishbelly 86 Onions

2. Workhorse

3. 1st vs. 2nd

4. Half-Tongue

5. Diamond

6. Harvest Feast

7. HTJC

8. Rob's Dream

All Them Wishes are an odd one to review. I know I hate putting bands into genres but I’m not even sure these guys can be put in one. Skuzzy bass and guitars, grinding organs, stop start singing. I’m getting The Doors, Grunge, The Charlatans, 70’s Rock a la Free and the like. Odd song titles such as the opener “Fishbelly 86 Onions” don’t help pin down just what this is. Even the album cover, a vague skull is at odds with the sound coming out of All Them Witches. Using The Doors analogy, imagine what it must have been like to hear them for the first time? These guys have that feel. They are Bluesy but not a Blues band.

Hailing from Nashville the band is steeped in the musical history of the region, evocative of it even. Yet it doesn’t feel out of place on a overcast morning in North East England. For some reason the film “Crossroads” has entered my head, could be the guitar style, and could just be the mood the album is creating.

All Them Witches are walking a very narrow line with their use of such well heeled types of music, if they didn’t pull it off so well they could easily be discounted as another wannabe tribute to the past. Yes the music is steeped in tradition but this album feels fresh, unexpected. I suspect I could listen many more times than I have and still not get bored of it! Time will tell as I will most certainly put this release on my “heavy rotation “list.

“Half-Tongue” sees a shift from the steady plodding of the previous tracks and shows this band are no one trick pony, the vocals are crisper than before, the backing giving a different feel. They make it sound so easy! “Diamond” even starts out like a Pixies song, moving almost into Nirvana territory, proving that the band aren’t stuck in just the 60’s and 70’s. It’s a brooding classic in the making. Real standout tracks for me are “Fishbelly 86 Onions”, “Diamond”, “Harvest Feast” and “HTJC”.

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by All Them Witches and look forward to getting to know them better.

I’ve cruelly scored the album 4 out of 5 stars, it’s brilliant for sure but I feel they are just getting started.