reviewed by Michael Thomas
For years now, Hamilton has become a cooler and cooler musical centre, especially for noisy, scuzzy rocks acts. Acts like the Dirty Nil have benefited from this explosion, and WTCHS are poised to be the next ones out of the gate. With their “who-the-fuck-cares-let’s-just-kill-it” vibe and insane commitment to DIY, WTCHS are just as fun to read about as they are to experience live.
Live, just as on record, the band just lays down an intense wall of sound. Crunching guitar chords, weirdo static interruptions and loud but indistinguishable vocals are more or less what you can expect. Once their sonic grip has you, it won’t let go.
Given this review’s proximity to Easter, it would follow to try and tie in It’s Not a Cross, It’s a Curse! to some kind of religious theme but that really wouldn’t make much sense, as it’s hard to compare this EP to anything. There’s elements of the tangential-ness of Each Other, a smidgen of 70s psych-rock, but mostly just a hell of a lot of noise, and that’s just fine.
The height of this EP’s craziness probably comes with “Over Kilmer” and “Tiger” which almost seem to be two sides of the same coin. The guitar sounds a bit cleaner, but the vocals sound a bit angrier and more powerful in combination with a couple of “ooh’s.” The four-minute “Neil” is a closer that works as a bit of a shapeshifter, and dials down the intensity somewhat to make room for the aforementioned 70s psych-rock vibes.
“Young Girls” and “Top Prize” both shake things up a bit. The former begins as a doom-filled guitar assault but ends quietly, with the faintest hint of an organ, while “Top Prize” interrupts its assault only momentarily, but jarringly, with a wave of static hiss.
You’ll welcome the assault.
Top Track: “Top Prize”
Rating: Strong Hoot (Good)
