Single Review: Wicca Phase Springs Eternal - 'High Strangeness'

Photo Credit - Rob Yaskovic

You may know of Adam McIlwee for his unique and iconic vocals in American emo band ‘Tigers Jaw’, but since his departure from the band in 2013, McIlwee has been working on his own project since then, and in 2016 he released his first solo album ‘Secret Boy’. Since then, the project has risen in popularity after McIlwee co-founded ‘GothBoiClique’, which included the late Lil Peep, amongst other similar artists producing an undefined musical style. 

With his departure from Tigers Jaw, McIlwee has discovered a much different sound, a more tranquil sound. It comes with the new direction in underground music that features mellow and subdued melodies, with hints towards trap and hip-hop.

‘High Strangness’ is the latest release from Wicca Phase’s upcoming EP ‘Corinthiax’, due to be released March 16th. Having already released the first single of the EP, McIlwee made sure to have ‘High Strangeness’ follow it up to bring something more “down to earth” and “relatable”. Singing “I know sometime's I'm a bore and moody at best, I can be a drag”, this is something many people can relate to the feeling of. That feeling of not being good enough, that feeling of not being what someone needs. Singing about “some nights I'm under the spell of darker beings”, this may relate to those that are kept up by their demons at night. It brings dark undertones and more depth to the song as McIlwee reveals intimate parts of his life - more specifically, his love life. Through out the album, it’s expected more intimacies of McIlwee’s life will be revealed, as this is something that seems to be played off of a lot within the style of music he has helped to set up.

Adam says of the song “it starts with me apologizing to the audience for being confusing (sometimes), and turns into a song about love, secrets and cross-dimensional travel.” His new music is able to bring together aspects of his emo roots alongside trap/hip-hop beats to bring a new genre to the world of music, that has recently found a name for itself in the underground music scene.

Words by Hayley Fearnley