Wicca Phase Springs Eternal releases new EP
Midnight at the Castle Moorlands is out today
The one and only Wicca Phase Springs Eternal (aka Pennsylvania-based singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Adam McIlwee) has released his new EP, Midnight at the Castle Moorlands, out today.
Midnight at the Castle Moorlands finds McIlwee self-producing for the first time, allowing him to make some of his most fully-realized and immersive music yet. Early singles "Venti Iced Americano," "I Know The Raven," "My Name is the Endless Night" showcased WPSE's ability to swing from atmospheric soundscapes, to thumping beats, to jangly indie--all while sounding as daring and cohesive as ever. Now listeners can explore the Castle Moorlands in full and experience the latest chapter in WPSE's ongoing story.
For over a decade Wicca Phase Springs Eternal has been creating a body of work that's as unpredictable as it is impressive. McIlwee got his start as a member of indie favorites, Tigers Jaw, then with WPSE he founded Gothboiclique and was a trailblazer within the world of Soundcloud rap. Since then he's collaborated with Ethel Cain and even written a theme song for AEW wrestling star Darby Allin, all while defying genre boundaries and constantly adding to his massive catalog.
Last year McIlwee released Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, a self-titled full-length that brought a cosmic scope to his ever-evolving sound. The album had barely been released before he was back to writing more new music, and when it came time to really consider a follow-up, McIlwee knew he wanted to fully self-produce it. While Wicca Phase Springs Eternal was widescreen and maximal, Midnight at the Castle Moorlands pulls things back, aiming for an unexpected kind of naturalism within WPSE’s pointedly supernatural world. Recorded with engineer Matt Schimelfenig (Spirit of the Beehive, Golden Apples, Slaughter Beach, Dog) the Midnight at the Castle Moorlands is imbued with a warm, tangible grit that compliments the mystical settings and earnest feelings that McIlwee explores lyrically. "I wanted to make the most organic sounding album I could while using electronic production," he explains. “I’m always trying to figure out how to immerse the listener even more–whether that’s sonically or lyrically, and for these songs that meant reining things in and grounding them. I didn’t want to keep getting bigger and bigger, I wanted something looser and more lo-fi.”