Wichita - Wichita

Wichita

Wichita
self-released; 2015

3.4 out of 5

By Andrew Westberry

From the first sultry riff Wichita’s self-titled EP Wichita evokes an eerie and dark, yet energetic theme. Most of the first track is composed of a lonely electric guitar screaming out solos over simple percussion rhythms, and occasional gravelly vocals add to the mix. The band does not try to get fancy, instead landing on a catchy beat or riff and playing it out to full potential for a song. This can get repetitive and almost tedious to listen to continuously, but as background music this album makes for a great listen.

The style is predominantly classic rock and roll, with bits of blues, garage rock and progressive fusion thrown in for extra flavor. Harmonically, the band experiments with different minor chords and pentatonic motifs, especially at the beginning of “El Mariachi Perdido,” the second song of the EP, which sounds likes a foreboding Spanish/cowboy band.

All of the songs on the EP are rather lengthy, running from five minutes to over nine minutes long, and this is probably because most of the songs were results of jam sessions that the trio had together. A lack of vocal harmony in most of the album contributes to a simple, uncomplicated sound that one might expect from a live band. In fact, the entire EP sounds like a recorded jam session, albeit a professional one with no mistakes.

The EP contains no surprises until the last track “Forgotten Places.” For this song, typical distorted electric guitar and bass are replaced with a smooth electric guitar vamping and percussive accompaniment to a bright piano. The piano has a good amount of reverb attached to it, as do the other instruments, so this song, an instrumental song, feels heavy and reflective.

As a whole, the album is a good starting point for a rock and roll band, but future projects would benefit from more variety, more instrumentation and a bit faster tempo.

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