When you think of Eel Pie Island and music then you probably think of Mystery Jets, but it seems like the enigmatic West Wickhams have set up camp there to go about making their tunes. The duo, who are originally from the nearby area of West Wickham, are a little more imaginative with their music than they are with their band names, and although still at the demo stage, 'On The Radio' is sounding great. It borrows from the past admittedly, but then that's hardly a reason to slate them, as it would wipe out 90% of the music world if we did that across the board. Actually that might not be such a bad idea...
Anyway, to the matter in hand: 'On The Radio' is a post-punk influenced track with a slight gothic element. It has touches of The Jesus & Mary Chain, Echo & The Bunnymen and others of that period, but also touches of shoegaze in the fuzz and the repetition. Of course repetition can go either way; it can be dull or it can be a bit mesmerising, and here it's the latter. The use of organ and echoing drums gives a darker feel to the song and almost falls into Spacemen 3 territory at times, but the vocals are straight from the first wave of shoegaze and lighten things, preventing it becoming bogged down. A valiant effort from a duo who could have a bright future.
West Wickhams' website
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West Wickham is just down the road from me. It's dull, a real God's waiting room area and not really near Eel Pie Island
ReplyDeleteWell it's in the same city as Eel Pie Island and on the same side of the river (I think) so it's not like they've travelled miles! I'm sure they'll be thrilled that you think so highly of their hometown!
DeleteI assume they'd probably agree. They moved after all.
ReplyDeletePS It's 18 miles and the other side of the river according to Google Maps (though the river gets a bit windy out west) so it's only just over