Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, the enigmatic, project of former Tigers Jaw member and GothBoiClique co-founder, Adam McIlwee, has announced an adventurous new EP, Raw and Declawed. The EP is due out July 14th via Disposition Collective, and has premiered the release’s first track “Icebreaker.”
Raw and Declawed marks a stark departure from much of McIlwee’s work as Wicca Phase Springs Eternal. While you’d be hard-pressed to determine what Wicca Phase’s signature sound is on any given day, up to this point the project has mostly been defined by its unlikely blend of trap beats and cadences with the earnest melancholy of punk and emo. This genre-defying combination has begun to catch steam, in no small part due to Wicca Phase and the work of GothBoiClique: the musical collective co-founded by McIlwee that includes like-minded artists like the polarizing Lil Peep. Despite the spotlight on this burgeoning music scene, McIlwee’s newest release takes a very different approach.
No matter what sonic rabbit hole is being explored, what truly defines Wicca Phase is McIlwee’s distinct vocals and lyricism. His love of cleverly morose storytellers, like Nick Cave and Morrissey, has always been been a subtle part of Wicca Phase, but on Raw and Declawed those influences are brought to the forefront as the usual electronics and effects are stripped away, leaving only McIlwee’s acoustic guitar and unique, almost-crooning vocals. The results are starkly beautiful songs that harken back to McIlwee’s past work in Tigers Jaw, but also point to the project’s future: one unrestrained by genre, where Wicca Phase Springs Eternal can be anything and everything.
