‘Vivre Sa Vie’ is the latest release from Isle of Scilly based psychedelic garage duo West Wickhams. The UK natives have gifted us with little over 20 minutes of trippy post punk, their EP being especially dreamy in a gothic noir way. ‘Vivre Sa Vie’ meaning to live your life, West Wickhams take a do what thou wilt attitude throughout the EP, each track layered with passion and hypnotizations.
‘I Am Sparkling Cyanide’ begins the journey in the vein of Fields of the Nephilim or Ritual Howls with lush echoey atmospheric sonics positively entrancing the listener. ‘The Maddening Crowd’ is the goth version of California surfer punk, with classic twinges of The Cramps in the upbeat, driving rhythm section. ‘Carla Suspiria’ is the first track off the EP you can properly lose yourself in, as well as ‘I’m Spinning I’m Spinning’. Both tunes make you feel as though you’re reciting incantations in an abandoned church while high off your head. Psychedelic worship vibes, if you will. You may have noticed by now most titles are rife with references to critically lauded yet somewhat niche films or novels; ‘Sparkling Cyanide’ ala Agatha Christie, ‘The Maddening Crowd’ a clever change of Thomas Hardy’s ‘Far From the Madding Crowd’, the owner of every goth’s black heart ‘Suspiria’, ‘Damned Defiant’ like the 1962 British naval war film, and of course, the EP’s name ‘Vivre Sa Vie’ like Jean-Luc Godard‘s 1962 classic French new wave drama.
All the references spark creativity and wonder in the listener as you try to make sense of them in ‘Vivre Sa Vie’s context. Other track highlights include: ‘The Conformist’ – two minutes of twinkling magic – and ‘Scandulous’ a melting pot of psych goth and cowboy surf sonics.
Sarah Medeiros