Album: Annabel Dream Reader // The Wytches 25.08.14

©The Wytches

Annabel Dream Reader is everything and more than a debut is expected to be. With its raw and primitive sounds, the Brighton trio’s twisted low-fi psychedelia is captivating and anarchic. Their influences and attitudes are apparent as hints of Bleach-era Nirvana are twisted amongst the chaotic feedback. Vocalist Kristian Bell projects raw, sometimes harsh vocals and often results to dramatised screams, not dissimilar to early Kurt Cobain and Jack White vocals, which add to the chaotic effect and distinctive charm of the tracks.
Digsaw is a powerful opening to the album, with the riffs kicking in straight away and in turn is complimented with the similarly grungy Gravedweller. A mere three tracks in; the album is already bordering on the darkly illogical and is thriving with the odd metaphors of Bell balanced with the boisterous drumming from Gianni Honey and twitchy lyrics. The rhythmic Fragile Male and rowdy Burn Out The Bruise come and go, followed by the calmer Wire Frame Mattress which whilst slowing the pace, still manages to feature a reckless solo. Beehive Queen features a catchy riff and precedes the first ballad of the album: Weights and Ties, an open and vulnerable track in comparison to the previous few.
 The haunting and eerie Part-Time Model follows this, with a memorable chorus featuring the melancholy ‘I woke up like a stranger’. Summer Again, perhaps the most beautiful on the album, is a downhearted and brooding track. Described as a break-up album by Bell, this piece alone is pure and clear evidence of the claim. The pace is then picked back up with Robe For Juda and returns us to the previous raucous style of The Wytches providing us with the typical distortion and fuzzy bass delivered by Daniel Rumsey. The previous darkness re-emerges with the penultimate Crying Clown and is balanced and emphasised with a deeply heavy riff and thundering guitars. An indulgent and reflective song closes the 45 minute long debut; the fittingly named Track 13 is emotive and melodic with a tranquil instrumental progression which ends far too soon.
Raw edged and brutal, Annabel Dream Reader is an exceptional debut.