Brilliant! Sean Adams (Drowned In Sound) has blogged about a new genre - Witch House. Now, I don't profess to have seen this coming - not by a long shot. A lot of these bands are new to me - oOoOO, Mater Suspiria Vision, Gr†ll Gr†ll, Pwin Teaks. But you know what, I LOVE it. I love three things, in fact:
1. The way in which Sean has got in there and coined the phrase. I think that taste-makers are going to become increasingly important in the future of online music consumption (there's so much! where do I start? ooh I think I'll stick to what I know! oh, I'm bored...) Whether this takes the form of labels, or blog sites like Drowned, I don't think it matters. But someone has to be out there pioneering, and lumping bands together in convenient niches seems to do the trick. Once you have a 'scene' then the buzz speaks for itself.
2. The way that the band names incorporate crosses and keyboard symbols. Very occultish! Totally witchy. Very annoying for anyone trying to find them online.
3. The music itself - now, I'm not claiming that it's the best music I've ever heard, but I like Hearts (oOoOO) and I'm actually a really big fan of Buffy and various other 'witchy' themed TV shows, so perhaps that's why the aesthetic appeals. I'm not too sure I like Sean's description of 'witch' having come from the fact there are females in the bands. But then, beggars can't be choosers. As there is really only Riot Grrrl to refer back to, or too-twee-for-words faux-folk nonsense, poor girls in bands do tend to get pigeon-holed rather a lot. I think I would prefer to be a witch.
Rumour has it Sean will be pioneering Witch House at a panel at this year's In The City festival. Watch this space. Ooooooh.
