By: Martyn Coppack
All Them Witches | facebook | twitter | bandcamp |
Released on September 16, 2014 via Bandcamp
Whenever anyone mentions Nashville, Tennessee and music the last thing you expect to hear is a psychedelic blues sound more akin with the southern blues of Allman Brothers than with the stetson wearing cowboys of legend. All Them Witches are no ordinary band though and follow their muse regardless of societal norms.
Lightning At The Door is the fruits of following that muse and we can be glad that they are so indebted to following their own path as what we have amounts to a complete classic of an album. It is an album to savour and explore, one that allows you to sink in and discover new meanings time and time again. It is also one of the most accomplished albums musically that has appeared for a good while.
What makes All Them Witches so special is their unhurried way with music. Not ones to dive straight in with a catchy riff, their music seeps into your consciousness and creates a sense of being told a story. This story may involve voodoo, drugs or just plain old Tennessee bourbon but you will feel like you have discovered and lent your time to a whole host of characters.
As the songs seep into each other all sense of reality is lost and the music becomes the whole. Repeated patterns emerge from the drawling vocals as the slumbering psych blues of ‘Swallowed By The Sea’ gives way to the rocky road of ‘Charles William’. The story of the Coyote Woman enraptured you as we are treated to her life and death and finally the atmospheric ‘Mountain’ with its sparse instrumentation treats you to a master-class in weird Americana.
And that is what this whole album is. A trip into the darker recesses of Americana where nothing is quite what it seems. Regular instruments turn into a carnival for the bizarre and paths are trodden which should stay dark. It is an album of pretty much immaculate conception and offers a dark nightmare of the soul. All Them Witches are a band to watch, they will be capable of remarkable things.
