Review: Throw your books into the fire

So, 'Throw your books into the fire', the new EP from Norfolk based band Witchers finally turned up on my bed. I did have a sneaky first listen back in June but the EP became available for purchase at the end of July, firstly on iTunes then through their online shop and at their gigs, starting with the UK mini tour that took place at the end of July - beginning of August, which I sadly missed.

The EP is certainly very good value for money, with £3 getting you five songs (if you go on to Amazon, you can get 'Throw your books into the fire' and the previous release, 'Fill in the blanks' for £4.99.) All of the songs flit around the five minute mark in length, with 'Fragments' being the shortest at just over four and a half minutes. I remember reading an interview with Jarvis Cocker a few years back where he said that Pulp never intended to write such long songs, it was just the way they ended up, and this is what it feels like here, rather than listening to a band who could write excellent three minute long songs but choose drag them out for a couple of extra minutes with pointless solos and fills.

Anyone who has been to a Witchers gig will have heard at least a couple of the songs, though probably not 'Lions and Wolves' which is actually something of a surprise favourite for me on the EP. It doesn't get played at gigs as often as the other tracks on the release and I'm told this is due to singer Simon Yaxley having trouble remembering the lyrics, and indeed, whenever I have seen this song played live, it has left me feeling a bit apathetic, not least because Simon seems to just be making noise rather than singing any discernible lyrics. On the EP however, you can hear everything so much clearer, almost as if the song has been brought into sharp focus, rather than being the blur that I'm used to hearing live.

The following song is 'Fragments', a song that has in the past come under a lot of criticism from me. However, the fairly recent addition of bassist Jack Kavanagh's backing vocals gives it a new dimension that had been lacking until that point and makes me a lot fonder of the track. If he can remember to sing backing vocals live at all the points he's meant to, rather than the odd chorus here and there, then I think it will add a depth and consistency to the vocals that we haven't really seen from them. Simon has a wonderful singing voice, there's no disputing that, but sometimes it needs someone else's voice to really carry it, be it Jack's or drummer Kit Marsden's, something which I have know he is more than capable of from watching his old band Cardiem, and something I feel Witchers should certainly take advantage of.

On the topic of vocals, I do have one rather large gripe about the EP as a whole. The effects that have been layered on top of Simon's vocals, most prominently on 'Books' and 'I remember', are something that to me feels like a really cheap trick. There are some out there who will argue that the technology is there to create these things, so why not use them? My argument would be that if I had never heard them before, went to one of their gigs, liked them so much I bought an EP, and then got home and listened to that, I would be disappointed (unless in this hypothetical situation I had bought 'Fill in the blanks'.) It's so brazenly fake, and whilst there is nothing necessarily wrong with that, I just feel that they could've achieved a more natural sounding effect using the vocals of the other band members, which could have been replicated live.

Overall, I'd say that you get good value for money and it is certainly a very well produced release. However, if you want to get a real idea of what Witchers are like as a band, you really have to see them live. With twelve shows under my belt, I am fortunate enough to have seen how they've progressed in the last ten months. There have been some good shows and some absolute disasters but I think you'd be highly unwise to judge this band based purely on this EP (or indeed this review.) This band has potential and should they choose to go their separate ways, all of the members are undeniably talented and will not struggle to form new projects. With rumours that they may be about to sign to local label NROne Records and their recent appearance on BBC Norfolk Introducing, I don't see them splitting any time soon. I can only hope that by the time I return to the fine city, they'll have written some new material (in addition to 'Undivided' and 'Protest') and will no longer be playing The Marquee, a venue I hate with a passion.

Witchers can be found on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify, as well as all good social networking sites.