Wych Elm - Rabbit Wench Review
Recorded at Humm Studios, Bristol with "Spectres" Dom Mitchinson at the helm and mastered by Pete Maher, “Rabbit Wench” will surely consecrate Wych Elm as one of the most exciting bands in the UK.
Released today, Friday 24th September 2021 is “Rabbit Wench,” the second EP release from Bristol-based Wych Elm- an explosive follow-up to 2019’s “Rat Blanket ”EP". Recorded at Humm Studios, Bristol with "Spectres" Dom Mitchinson at the helm and mastered by Pete Maher, “Rabbit Wench” will surely consecrate Wych Elm as one of the most exciting bands in the UK. After playing countless live shows in their native Bristol, they have started to stretch their wings across the UK, and have been met with much acclaim.
Having been hand-picked by IDLES to support them at the O2 Brixton Academy and with over a million plays on Spotify, this is a band on the way to dizzying new heights.
The EP launches into ‘Executioner’, at under 2 minutes, its infectious chorus and rapid tempo changes pack a formidable punch. “Use my bones as a knife and fork aren’t lyrics to forget in a hurry! ‘Executioner’ is also the second single release from the EP . Elliman wrote the track as both an introverted and retrospective look at a previous dysfunctional relationship, in which she was constantly berated and insulted. She says “It got to a point where I fed off it, I wanted to be hurt because it was the only attention I got. At the time I thought it was better than nothing, though it made me greatly depressed. I wanted to be the one who was executed.”
"Scold's Bride" is the second track, and was the first single release. Jagged and raw, the track is a prime example of the band at their best. They sound more powerful than ever, soaring vocals, hypnotic drum beats and killer hooks, they truly are sounding more ferocious than ever before.A little history lesson, a Scold’s Bride is an instrument that was used to both silence and humiliate women, they would be forced to wear one if they said anything “troublesome or riotous”. They were either a mask type design or a series of leather straps with a metal bit that was inserted into the mouth. A metal spike was used to keep the bit in place which made talking or eating impossible. It would often rip the tongue of the wearer. Women were often paraded through their hometowns whilst wearing them, to add to the humiliation. Caitlin has channeled her own rage drawing parallels to this barbaric, hideous contraption with her own experiences of being silenced, belittled and humiliated, and the accompanying video that was shot and edited by Elliman is nothing short of glorious
“Brute” was written about the same relationship as referenced in “Executioner” , but examines what happened in the aftermath. The line “throw off my shackles, throw off the flea infested coat you’d given me” tells of how often things that were presented as gifts and favours to Caitlin were actually tools of entrapment, used as a form of manipulation to trap her in the relationship or excuse terrible behaviour. The way the last chorus is shouted conjures a sense of freedom and defiance.
“Wench’ is, in Caitlin’s own words, about misogynistic men with mummy issues. Opening with a ominous bassline, vocal delivery is nothing short of seething, dripping with contempt, its snappy chorus “Wench” and bridge “You shouted Wench and I came running” are contagious.
‘Bear Trap’ is vocally very different from all the other songson the EP, the track is sung at a much deeper, lower tone, the atmosphere this creates is bleak, dark, and crushing. The lyrics tell a story of unrequited love, of carrying the emotional burdens of others, the drum beats and reverb heavy soundscape weave together wonderfully to create lots of tension, and a cloying, claustrophobic mood.
‘Feed Me’ has the most unusual and unique instrument of all the tracks on ‘Rabbit Wench’, it features a guest appearance from Dom Mitchinson playing the balalaika (a four-stringed Russian folk instrument, triangular in shape) and also features vocals from all four members, and the last chorus is completed as a round, creating a very intense, frenzied dischord. The track was written from the perspective of a captive , being held hostage in a basement, beseeching their kidnapper to give them food. It has connotations of Stockholm syndrome, the lyrics portraying the victim feeling as worthless as their captor.
Closing track “Rabbit” has an incredible bassline, and Jack Hitchins has expanded his instrumental repertoire as he showcases his accordion skills (which accompanies him on tour, and has been received with lots of enthusiasm with live audiences), which lends a very interesting pitch that adds to the overall feeling of resolute despair of the track.
All in all "Rabbit Wench" is a formidable second release from the band. Physical copies of “Rabbit Wench” are available to buy here and via their website https://wychelm.band, as well as via all streaming services- there will be a slight delay on vinyl due to on-going issues with manufacturing.
Wych Elm are touring at various venues across the UK throughout the rest of the year and early 2022.