Review Summary: Still in love with that attitude
Between its frequent call-backs and various references to the past, both in time and setting, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal’s
Stop Torturing Me – along with a lot of the past work of associated collective GothBoiClique (GBC) – is both a familiar venture and breath of fresh air for Adam McIlwee’s trap-inspired passion project. Whilst the album continues the project’s despondent narrative, detailing the violent loneliness that accompanies descriptions of fame and the sadness inherent to life’s happenings, it does so with a distinct shift in sound. Of course, as expected,
Stop Torturing Me isn’t a radical departure from the distinct sonic palette developed since the inception of Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, however the exclusive utilisation of frequent collaborator Horse Head brings along with it a notable change.
Stop Torturing Me satisfies the role of catering to said palette – drawing inspiration from contemporaries 2Chainz and the like, as well as GBC’s subsequent slant of influences – but does so with a fresh aesthetic. Horse Head marries the lo-fi percussive sounds of previous works to a newer emphasis on guitar-driven instrumentals, delivering for both artists, in subsequence their most pleasant-sounding and abrasive piece of work to date.
Unlike with the slew of producers adopted in the past, Horse Head’s characteristic finesse in building his instrumentals allows for an unparalleled consistency in any GBC-affiliated project to date. Sure, the aesthetic itself is far from unique. Once more, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal finds himself passionately droning atop a collection of ethereal, sample-based beats. On
Stop Torturing Me, however, Horse Head’s shift towards a more organic sound allows for a greater contrast between the instrumental and Wicca Phase’s despondent vocal performance. Between the project’s abrasive bookends and the pleasant-sounding deeper cuts, Adam McIlwee delivers some of his most introspective, heart-on-his-sleeve ramblings to date. “Stop Torturing Me,” the album’s title- and opening track, is as immediate in introduction needed to emphasise this newfound abrasiveness. A loud, distorted guitar riff loops itself for the length of the track, through verse and chorus, and whatever loose structure Adam sees fit. On the other hand, highlights “Bad Side” and “When Will It End” utilise a lighter, dreamier tone; the latter of these does so with an urgency built around subtle, swelling electronics that invoke the crashing of waves.
Where and when
Wicca Phase Springs Eternal’s charm arises is hard to pinpoint. It’s an issue I’ve had since first setting ears upon career highlight “Shut My Eyes.” On one hand, the aesthetic feels undercooked, one-dimensional: repetitive song structures and ostensibly apathetic songwriting techniques seem to permeate the product of much of Adam McIlwee’s work in this sound. Bar the sillier and bombastic tracks in the vein of “I’m Lebron.”
Abercrombie & Me was boring and meandering, too comfortable in its own skin. Whilst
Secret Boy’s highlights (the album’s title track, “It Takes,” “Lights on Paper”) were charming, large parts of the album felt like filler material, in spite of Adam’s inviting persona. Working with Horse Head on
Stop Torturing Me, however, we get one step closer to untapping the potential that is Wicca Phase Springs Eternal.
Charm in simplicity. As I listen to the EP more and more since its release, it becomes clearer and clearer that what makes the music so irresistible isn’t its penchant for detailed or sophisticated songwriting, but the basic, even coincidental catchiness it pervades. Its infectious catchiness arises from the simple manner in which Adam’s voice falls and locks into place. Far from a vigorous attention to detail, more akin to karaoke; in the best, most endearing, sophisticated way possible. Between its frequent call-backs and various references to the past, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal invokes his past output to expand upon it in his most well-realised and pointed project to date.
