The name of the opening track is spoken into the listeners ear immediately, ‘Icicle’, through a dreamy female vocal with a guitar sound that will make you think of The Cult’s ‘She Sells Sanctuary’. Then the bass picks up, turning this dreamy sound into new wave in an instant. L.A. Witch are starting off their third studio album, DOGGOD, with a dramatic flare of new wave and post punk sounds blended together, and it works brilliantly. ‘Kiss Me Deep’ wastes no time getting started, the bassline thumping at you straight away and Sade Sanchez’s vocals and guitar mesmerising the ear. There’s one line in particular, “I was your lover in every life”, it stands out on the track as a great lyric. Next up, ‘777’ is another quick-fire track that will hook you in from the beginning, a sharp riff that sounds menacing paired with a bassline and drumbeat that compliment it perfectly. Irita Pai has a great skill of holding a solid bassline and running with it.
With a length of six minutes and 13 seconds, ‘I Hunt You Pray’ is packed from start to finish. The opening riff is similar to that of Joy Division’s ‘New Dawn Fades’, a nice nod to a brilliant track. The bass is running with it too, it feels like it’s building and building, the drums following a similar pattern. As we go further, Sanchez starts to add her own input with the guitar, almost piercing through the rest of the band, the bass and the drums still not faltering. “I Hunt you pray” being repeated throughout adds to this song really feeling like it’s building up to something, it would work perfectly in a horror film chase. ‘Eyes of Love’ takes it back down a notch, taking a more calm and relaxed approach to the sound. The guitar sounds dreamy once again, paired with Sanchez’s vocals it has a very cool and composed feel to it.
The launch into the attacking riff and pumping drumbeat of ‘The Lines’ makes for a great song intro. It feels like you could be flying on the set of ‘Top Gun’ with this playing on a cassette in the cockpit. It’s aggressive, it’s strong, it’s powerful, and it is targeting your ears. ‘Lost at the Sea’ is reeling you back into that calm and serene sound, the slow, sitting on the side of your bed type riff, the fragile bassline, even some synths to really make you feel like you can relax and enjoy the view of the sea. ‘DOGGOD’ switches it up again and goes down the aggressive route, the guitars really chasing you down with a hard riff, and the bass following not to far behind. The final track, ‘SOS’ feels like you’ve just switched on the radio to hear New Order, only with a female singer. The synths have a similar sound to those found in ‘Blue Monday’, you can really hear the post punk and new wave influences coming through.
L.A. Witch’s third album has a great sound overall and uses some great inspiration and influences to convey that sound to its listeners. Anyone who is a fan of synthesisers, fast basslines, sharp riffs and dreamy vocals are bound to find joy in this hidden gem.
L.A. Witch: Doggod – Out 4 April 2025 (Suicide Squeeze Records)
WITCH – ICICLE (OFFICIAL VIDEO)
