Pacific Witch is a three-piece, Sacramento based, alternative surf-rock band that formed in early 2020. Waiting-out the pandemic until venues re-opened allowed them the time and focus to record Relics Only, their debut album. They embarked on a West Coast tour as soon as the opportunity presented itself in January 2023 with shows ranging from Vancouver, BC to Tijuana, Mexico. The band describes themselves as “...an uncomplicated, honest, if less traditional surf rock band. If traditional surf rock is a sunny day at the beach, [we] would be the fog on the horizon…A little less Beach Boys and a little more Roy Orbison. It calls on some punk grit, a little classic rock, some dreamy vibes, and sad lyrics, but all of that revolves around a spring reverb surf core.”
“Whole Nerds And Puke” immediately draws you in with its groovy bass riff. There’s some well-placed back-and-forth between the rhythm guitar and vocalist in the first verse with a strong solo coming in hot at 1:30 mark. There’s a rawness to the vocals which are sometimes contrastively supported by quiet backing harmonies. “Spin Cycle” offers an interesting metaphor, “Still got the suds on me from when / Clotheslined and hung out as a friend / Not quite dry enough to mend / I'm stuck in the spin cycle again.” The music very much has a cyclical sensation in the sense of having a repetitive (spinning) rhythmic guitar part, although there is tasteful variability with excellent little guitar licks turning up a little over half-way through the song. “American Lie” expresses disillusion with, I presume, the American Dream and also the American Dreamers themselves, “But we’re not great people / We’re not great.” The intro on here took me by surprise with a sound somewhat akin to Red Hot Chili Peppers. The instrumental “Shindig” showcases the band's technical proficiency to a greater extent. It’s something straight out of a Western and gave me visions of gunslinging cowboys riding their horses through ghost towns overrun with tumbleweed. “Lucid Dreams” slows things down and reveals a quieter, softer, and subtler side of the band, “Coming up short again today / Got it all but I lost my way / It’s just easier to sleep.” The next song, “Old John,” tells a tragic narrative of divorce and heartbreak with a pleasantly surprising vocal shift in contrast to the previous songs. The chorus has a particularly striking melody when the singer, who has a relatively low and - up to this point on the album - slightly un-dynamic voice, transitions beautifully into his upper register, “Buried him under the sun.” “Devils Only” returns with the intensity and energy that kicked off the album. It initially seems like it’ll be an innocent enough song with a sort of a cappella Beach Boys vocal intro that reflects upon the peace and quiet of the countryside as opposed to the city. Yet the song takes a twist into a story about prostitutes and kinks with a pressing rhythm, quick vocal-delivery, some wailing guitar and darkly descriptive imagery. The sparse lyrics of “Photosynthesis,” which entail just one line, “I get my food from the sun,” in no way describes the music itself. The rhythmic guitar converses in tandem with the drummer while the bass player infuses lovely and solitary moments of subtleness when the guitar and drums pause silently. “Caveman” is a love story that covers our sprawling human timeline from the caveman era to graduation day in 2008. It’s pretty low-key. You’ll hear lots of cymbals underneath the repetitive chord progression of the verses and chorus, with a welcome instrumental bit after the second chorus. Closing the album is “Seagraves,” an instrumental with intimate and warm vocal harmonies overtop of gentle strums and stripped-back bass/drums. The vocal harmony parts are interspersed with some excellent back and forth between the solo guitar and bass/drums. It’s a peaceful and beautiful song which, of all the songs on the album, most clearly enables me to feel and envisage myself as a surfer riding the waves...
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