Nashville psych rock band ALL THEM WITCHES play a sold out show at The Lexington in London.

It took them only three albums to visit Europe. THREE! Let it sink in. As the band admit it’s their first time outside North America.

Coming down to London straight after a gig in Greece All Them Witches played TWO sold out shows last week. And I was there to witness the madness.

Opening with tracks taken from their second record Lightning at the Door (2014) All Them Witches let the psychedelic stoner rock to fill up the space. Parks‘ steady bass line creates a foundation for his deep timbre and the rest just follows.

Downbeat Call Me Star alongside the track Open Passageways echo across the room. Staebler‘s mad and restless drums blend with focus and hypnotizing Van Cleave‘s keys resulting in a staggering sound. But you can tell that it’s all about the guitar. McLeod‘s solid riffs and electrifying guitar solos only strengthen the band’s stage presence making the entire performance even more magnetic.

This band is like having four guitars – Parks says. I play bass like a guitar, Allen plays keys like a guitar, and Robby even plays drums like a guitar: he’s doing fills and rolls. It’s almost like the percussive element of fingerpicking, the sound of fingers on strings.

The band play extremely long music set showcasing many songs, besides those mentioned already, from the debut record Our Mother Electricity (2012) and the latest Dying Surfer Meets His Maker (2015). Not that anyone complains, of course.

In spite of being here on a Sunday night, with a dreadful Monday approaching, the crowd is really enjoying themselves. The bottle of Jim Beam makes its round starting with the lead singer himself, some girls start to scream [especially after having some of that JB] and what a weird thing happens – one guy tries to achieve some sort of a reverse stage diving throwing himself onto the stage. You know, I’ve seen a lot but I haven’t seen anything like this before.

None of our shows are the same twice – Parks adds. We like not having to get up and play our songs the same way every night. It’s like jazz, where the main parts are there, but the rest is made up. We never say it, it just happens, we let the music talk for us.

Setlist as follows:

The Death of Coyote Woman

Funeral for a Great Drunken Bird

When God Comes Back

Dirt Preachers

The Marriage of Coyote Woman

Call Me Star

Open Passageways

Talisman

Blood and Sand / Milk and Endless Waters

Charles William

Heavy Like a Witch

Mountain

Swallowed by the Sea

Encore:

Last Name Is the Blues

If you’re searching for some hot new music to listen to you should certainly give them a chance.

New album Dying Surfer Meets His Maker is out now via New West Records.

I had a quick chat with the band before they embarked on stage so plenty more to come. For now though have a look at photos from the gig.

Photo: Kasia Osowiecka