Damn the Witch Siren - White Magic (Review)

Damn the Witch Siren takes more steps towards conventionality and cohesion...

Over the last eight years, this Columbus based duo has been releasing self-described "witch rock" music and have remained somewhat fixed within the underground, despite having performed for both NPR's Tiny Desk and TED Talks. Before I jump into the review, I feel it's necessary to state that whilst Damn the Witch Siren may draw from the aesthetics of classic occult and witch rock, their sound is a far newer and more contemporary take on the previously punk and psychedelic sound of classic witch rock. No, Damn the Witch Siren are pioneering a whole new version of witch rock here, one that has far more in common with the sounds of witch house and electropop than with the traditional witch rock label.

In fact, their sound has varied rather a lot between their various EP and album releases, their early material generally being much more chaotic and club-oriented with exceptional and intriguingly unusual synthwork courtesy of Z Wolf, one half of the Damn the Witch Siren duo. Responsible for the experimentation, bizzare soundscapes and peculiar beats, Z is a consistently inconsistent composer. The other half of DTWS is Kitten, arguably the backbone of the duo and certainly the more consistent member, providing the blissful vocals and melodies that provide the powerful emotions that fuel their music. Here on White Magic, the duo follow up the dark dancefloor anthems of 2018's Red Magic with easily their most solemn and sober project to date, an album that faces the reality of the situation in the comedown from the potentially spiteful high of Red Magic.

If there's one thing Damn the Witch Siren has never been, it's calm; sure, they've had their fair share of more laidback songs, but the majority of songs on White Magic are classifiable as ballads and that's no bad thing. For one, I'd recommend this as the best entry point into their career, as it's far and away their most conventional release to date, somehow without sacrificing the quirks and experimentation that's made them an interesting presence all these years. To highlight some of the standouts, I think it's pretty obvious upon hearing the strange beauty in the painfully conflicted "Gothic Summer" that you're in for something special, and later on there is plenty to love in the uncompromisingly positive energy of the 80's influenced "XXX Me" and "Ain't Love Everything", some welcome callbacks to the duo's dancefloor days. On the other end of the spectrum is "Soft and Blue", the pure incarnation of devastating sadness. Equally unmissable is the moody vibe of "Ghost in the Sheet", a downbeat electropop track that boasts one of the album's catchiest choruses.

All in all, this might be the soft and blue side of their career but it's packed to the brim with fantastic offerings of quieter and more thoughtful electropop that does well to serve our current morbid and partyless landscape. These are songs to dance to not in the club but the living room, and songs to cry to in the comfort of your bed. Aside from being the perfect record for the time right now, it's also just a brilliantly made one and I can't recommend it enough.

8/10

Best Tracks: Love Song in D Major; Gothic Summer; XXX Me; Ain't Love Everything; Ghost in the Sheet; Soft and Blue; Paradise
Worst Tracks: Imposter Syndrome

Watch Damn the Witch Siren performing "Paradise" for NPR (at home due to quarantine).

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"White Magic"
Damn the Witch Siren

1st May 2020

Bad B****es Records

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