Witch Fever talk touring and ‘THE GARDEN’ music video
We spoke to Alex Thompson about upcoming album ‘FEVEREATEN’.
Photo: Press
Manchester punk band Witch Fever are about to release their second studio album, FEVEREATEN. We sat down with Alex Thompson from the band to talk about their recent single, the album, and the upcoming tour.
What can you tell us about the album? What should fans know going into it?
I think we went into this record with a lot more intention. You don’t really know what you’re doing recording an album until you’ve gone through the process once. So with this one, we were a lot more intentional and spent a lot more time doing preproduction and giving things enough time to fully realise. We’ve taken a step away from it being just punk. There’s more of a post-punk shoegaze element to it. We wanted this record to sound bigger than our instruments.
If you could assign the album to a playlist or aesthetic, what would it be?
I think it’s quite haunting, [so] anything horror themed.
Do you think that this is slightly a different and more evolved sound from your other album?
Yeah, definitely. [With] the first record, we finished writing it in the studio. It was like show up and play, you know? We used to approach songwriting a lot more riff-followed-by-riff. Whereas [with] this one, we thought about things more harmonically.
Is there one track in particular that you’re proud of and excited for people to hear?
My favourite is THE GARDEN. I feel like between all of us, it’s either THE GARDEN or FEVEREATEN.
I wanted to talk to you about THE GARDEN. That was your most recent single, right?
Yes!
Why did you want to release that song as the single?
Well, we originally weren’t even going to put it on the album. The rest of the band said it sounded too “Jesus-y”. By that, they meant it sounds anthemic; the chorus is quite big and has a “major” feel. We decided to put it on the album and, at the end, I was writing some cello, and we put some cello over the choruses, and it just blew up. We thought it would be a good lead one because it’s a bit more commercial [and] punchy. It just sounds like a big song.
You also did a music video [for THE GARDEN]. What can you tell us about that?
We were in this house in London, and we did the album cover, the music video for FEVEREATEN, and the music video for THE GARDEN over the course of two days. It was really good. We were working with Joseph Delaney — he was the director — and the stylist Matt King, whom we worked with on the first album. They really understood our vision.
It was based on the film The Others. It’s a family who thinks they’re being haunted, but then the twist at the end is they’re the ones who are dead. So that’s what we were kind of playing off of. Amy’s a massive horror buff, so a lot of the ideas come from her.
You mentioned those religious themes, which the entire album revolves around. Why was it important for you to talk about religion and the aftermath of leaving religion?
I’m going to speak on behalf of Amy, because it’s kind of her thing. We definitely didn’t go into the next record with the intention of it still being so heavily centred around religion, but so much of her aesthetic and so much of her lyrical language revolves around the bible and things that she would read growing up.
I also think, in general, it’s such strong imagery, and religion and horror are so entwined. I think this [album] isn’t so on-the-nose with being about her religious trauma. I think there’s a degree of separation, but it’s always going to be something that impacts her writing heavily.
I also wanted to talk to you about all of the shows you’ve been doing. You’ve done several big festivals recently.
Yeah, we did [2000] Trees and Outbreak this year, and we’re going on tour literally next week!
Do you have a show that you’ve done so far where you were like, ‘I can’t believe we got to play that?’.
It was a few years ago, but playing with My Chemical Romance at Stadium MK was a pinch-me moment. Then I was back to work at 10am the next day, like ‘no one here knows what I did yesterday’.
So do you still go to work while doing music?
Yeah, all of us still work.
Do you talk about what you do [for work]?
We’re pretty open about it. I think it’s just representative of the state of the music industry and how expensive it is. It’s not easy.
Are you all taking a month or two off while you’re touring?
Yeah. My work is really flexible.
Do you have a show coming up on this tour that you’re really excited about?
We’re doing Wembley Arena, which will be a big bucket list one for me. We’re also playing the AO Arena in Manchester, which will be a massive hometown show for us.
Do you have anything you want to do while you’re gone? Matching band tattoos or anything in that vein?
I think we’re just going to try not to kill each other, honestly. We want to explore a lot more cities. We’re on a bus this time, so we’ll be able to wake up on location and explore, rather than spend the whole time driving.
Do you have any fun tattoo stories you can tell us?
Mine are all quite boring, to be honest with you. Amy has tattooed me a few times. I think Amy has tattooed Annabelle, as well. I feel like now I’m too sensible to do anything silly. We’ve never gotten matching tattoos, which surprises me.
Do you think you ever would?
I think we would, but it might be like the kiss of death. You should never get matching tattoos with partners, should you? Maybe the same applies to bands.
What’s on your tour playlist?
I feel like when we’re touring, we don’t listen to as much metal as people might assume. We did one tour, and all I was listening to was Crocodile Rock by Elton John. Everybody’s always a fan of Lana Del Rey. We listen to a lot of chill music.
Witch Fever is about to embark on their FEVEREATEN European tour, which continues through November. The full album is set to release on October 31st via Music for Nations.