Wicca Phase Springs Eternal is the solo project of former Tigers Jaw guitarist/vocalist Adam Andrzejewski (né McIlwee), also a co-founder of the emo rap collective GothBoiClique. He's released quite a few albums under the Wicca Phase moniker since departing Tigers Jaw, with the most recent being 2023's self-titled. Today Andrzejewski has announced a new album called Mossy Oak Shadow, arriving in September, which is billed as a record of "mystical folk rock." There are two singles out now called "Horseback" and "Enchantment," and it's true -- they're not sounding very emo rap.
Ethel Cain, whose 2021 release Inbred featured a guest appearance from Wicca Phase, appears on a song on Mossy Oak Shadow. Andrzejewski made the album with producer/engineer Ben Greenberg (Depeche Mode, Drab Majesty, Show Me The Body) and renowned session musicians Ryan Jewell and David Moore. Of pivoting his sound away from hip-hop, Andrzejewski adds: "I always kind of thought that as long as I have the Wicca Phase Springs Eternal name that I can do whatever I want... The name provides a framework for the lyrics and aesthetics of the project -- my songwriting with a mystical overlay to it -- and as long as I can make something work within that, then the genre doesn’t totally matter."
"Horseback" reminds me of the melancholic folk of I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning, while "Enchantment" skews a bit more towards traditional bluegrass. Both songs have a lot of rootsy, down-home imagery, like open fields and sittin' on the porch. Listen to both songs and see the full Mossy Oak Shadow tracklist below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Rough Roads"
02 "Horseback"
03 "Enchantment"
04 "I Just Moved Here"
05 "Magic Moment"
06 "Meet Me Anywhere" (Feat. Ethel Cain)
07 "Looking Back"
08 "I Get It"
09 "Settler's Bend"
10 "Last Riders Crew"
11 "I Was A Runner Once"
Mossy Oak Shadow is out 9/19 via Run For Cover.
