An interview with Wych Elm | LOUD Bristol Issue Three
Posted on: 02 Jan 2022This article was first published in the third issue of LOUD Bristol, 365Bristol's dedicated music magazine. Read LOUD Issue Three and browse our first two editions here.
Wych Elm
Wych Elm founder and nucleus Caitlin Elliman delves into her band’s origins, progression and new EP, Rabbit Wench.
I really like folklore,” Wych Elm frontwoman Caitlin Elliman says when we get our virtual interview underway, settling down beneath two taxidermized polecats fixed to the wall behind her. “I just feel connected to these disgusting, horrible stories. I can’t ignore them.” Conceptually lured in part by gruesome folk tales, the four-piece have also become renowned for dealing in the macabre. Two years after the release of their debut EP, Rat Blanket, Wych Elm have returned, releasing their sophomore effort Rabbit Wench in September. The EP holds all the twisted energy you might expect it to, also demonstrating sonic and lyrical development through seven searingly intense tracks spanning just fifteen minutes.
The record sees Caitlin turn her gaze inward, fusing personal experiences with honest, emotive, and bleak lyrics; backed by an arid, melodic, and propulsive soundscape courtesy of a band half comprised of fresh faces. Wych Elm has been a somewhat fluid entity since it began formulating when Caitlin was a teenager. Originally a vessel for solo projects, she formed a band under the moniker Magic Spells, releasing a single shoegaze track before calling it quits. “I hated it. I thought I was missing the ability to write songs,” she says.
For Caitlin, the pleasant, chorus-laden tones of shoegaze didn’t feel authentic, nor did they suit her emotive lyrics. She wanted to forge a new path through a more dry and distorted landscape - musical terrain she feels significantly more comfortable in and that is far better suited to her gruesome lyrical imagery. “I didn’t want anything superficial. I just wanted to make what I’ve always wanted to make; songs about mental health that are weird and disturbing. I feel like I’ve kept some integrity from that.”
“I really like that [folklore] language - It makes you feel something. I think that’s what most people are looking for when they listen to music. They want to feel connected to it”
Out of the ashes of Magic Spells rose Wych Elm, taking its name from the mysterious case of a murdered Jane Doe found in an eponymous tree. “I felt so connected to it,” Caitlin says. “As soon as I saw those two words, I changed the band name straight away. I felt like I could take on the mystery of it and create music that’s inspired by the folklore of it.”
Indeed, folklore is a key conceptual blueprint for Caitlin’s lyrics, which are often constructed around standout words in these stories. “I use it to express how I feel. It’s how the stories are written, that’s where I get my gruesomeness and macabreness from – I literally use their words,” she says. “I really like that language - It makes you feel something. I think that’s what most people are looking for when they listen to music. They want to feel connected to it.” Rabbit Wench is no exception, as Caitlin weaves folklore into lyrics rooted in personal experience, most notably on ‘Scolds Bridle’, the EP’s second track. Referencing a medieval torture device used to silence and humiliate women, Caitlin illustrates in gory detail the parallels she drew to her personal accounts of being silenced.
Caitlin addresses her experiences more directly than on Rat Blanket, which often disguised them behind subjects confronted generally. Opener ‘Executioner’ is a raw and honest assessment of a dysfunctional relationship, whilst ‘Brute’ examines the aftermath in similarly candid fashion. “You feel really vulnerable thinking people can see every side of you. But it’s liberating in a way because you know you’re not the only person who feels like that. It’s therapeutic, being open,” she says.
Wych Elm have spent time developing their sound, too - something made abundantly clear within the first few chords of ‘Executioner’. The band have simultaneously tightened the bolts whilst maintaining their unpolished aesthetic as they carry their sonics into new territory. Producer Dom Mitchinson (currently of Spectres, formerly of Velcro Hooks) is partly responsible, lending his Balalaika (a Russian string instrument) on ‘Feed Me’, adding an eerie feel to the track. Mitchinson’s production duties on Rabbit Wench make him one of the longest serving contributors to Wych Elm, having also produced Rat Blanket. “He is actually a genius,” Caitlin says. “I don’t want to go to anyone else. He knew exactly what we wanted and was always able to deliver because he wanted it too. I don’t think our music would be popular at all if it wasn’t for him.”
Finding the right dynamic has proven difficult for Caitlin, with the band shedding its skin on multiple occasions. Guitarist Jack Hitchins is the only surviving member from the iteration that released Rat Blanket in 2019. In fact, it took a global pandemic to finally afford Caitlin the time to search for new bandmates without rushing, eventually bringing in Issy Sharpe on drums and Connie Matthews (niece of Elastica’s Donna Matthews) on bass. “I feel like we’re in a place where we can stick with how we are and build upon that,” she says.
Main Image: Martin Thompson
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Article by:
George is a journalism graduate and writer passionate about music and culture. Get in touch via email at george@365bristol.com
