West Wickhams are Jon Othello and Elle Flores, two slightly feral souls who washed up in Surrey after growing up on the windswept Isles of Scilly. They make music in bedrooms and garages, love old horror paperbacks, charity-shop synths, and anything that sounds like it was recorded on a cassette that got left on a radiator. Sakura is their brand-new five-track EP, fourteen minutes of pure autumn mood.

The Review (Track by Track)

Up To The Old Tricks

Straight in with a drum machine and a bass line that sneers. Jon and Elle swap lines like they’re daring each other to blink first. It’s over before three minutes, but that chorus is already living rent-free in my head. Instant repeat button material.

Ice Block

Everything slows and freezes. Just a couple of icy keyboard notes, a hi-hat that clicks like teeth chattering, and Elle singing like she’s stuck behind glass. Halfway through it almost stops completely and you can hear the tape hiss. Then one guitar sting and you’re wide awake again. Chills, proper chills.

As The Camera Shuts

This one feels like someone’s filming you from across the street. Wobbly synths flicker like a dying bulb, the beat lurches, and the vocals keep ducking behind the noise as if they’re hiding. When the distortion finally snaps in, it’s like the lens cap slamming down. Creepy and brilliant.

EQ The Viper

This one is definitely my favorite. The bass slithers, the synths keep twisting the tone knobs so the whole track feels alive and venomous. You catch little whispered words you didn’t notice the first time round. Short, poisonous, perfect.

Save Yourselves

The closer stretches out a bit longer and lets some churchy organ creep in. Feels like the end credits of a film where nobody really wins. It builds and builds, then just leaves you hanging on a low drone. I sat staring at the wall for a minute after it finished.

    Final Thoughts

    Sakura isn’t trying to impress anyone and that’s exactly why it’s so good. Fourteen minutes of lo-fi, frostbitten post-punk that feels handmade in the best way. Stick your headphones on, turn the lights low, and let it play twice. You’ll still be humming it on the bus tomorrow morning.

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