Wicca Phase Springs Eternal (aka Adam Andrzejewski, né McIlwee) has announced a followup to his 2023 self-titled album, which saw the emo-trap pioneer (and former Tigers Jaw member) branching out into post-punk, new wave, folk music, and more. His upcoming album Mossy Oak Shadow is said to entirely be a folk rock album, and that’s very much the vibe on lead singles “Horseback” and “Enchantment.” The former is a shaggy, melancholic, slacker folk song, while the latter is a more upbeat song with an alt-country vibe.
“I always kind of thought that as long as I have the Wicca Phase Springs Eternal name that I can do whatever I want,” Adam says via press release. “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.”
“There’s always been acoustic songs on my records but usually they’re in the context of a beat-based Wicca Phase album. I think the idea here was to just kind of start fresh and go hard in this other direction,” he continues. “The temptation is to call it a country record. I don’t really think it’s that–but there’s acoustic guitar and slide guitar, and I think my interests and themes do have elements of country in sort of an archetypical way.”
“I’ve loved Bob Dylan since I was ten years old. I had an uncle who gave me his entire catalog on data discs and I just fell in love. I even love how he’s always reinterpreting his work to this day and I try to keep that in mind–especially for this album. That spirit, that freedom, was very influential to me with writing this record. I felt like I didn’t have to think about too many specifics outside of writing lyrics and chords and whatever comes out comes out, genre be damned.”
The album was produced by Uniform’s Ben Greenberg, who also worked on the self-titled, and the majority of the album was tracked live with a backing band featuring Greenberg on bass, plus session musicians Ryan Jewell and David Moore on drums and keys. One song (“Meet Me Anywhere”) is a duet with Ethel Cain.
Check out both lead singles below. The album drops on September 19 via Run For Cover and is up for pre-order now.
Wicca Phase also has upcoming tour dates with his backing band The Mystery Mountain Band, including a free Brooklyn show this Thursday (7/17) at Baby’s All Right with support from Comet. He also opens the UK leg of Turnover‘s Peripheral Vision 10th anniversary tour, and has upcoming West Coast/Southwest dates in the US this September. All dates are listed below.
Tracklist
1. Rough Roads
2. Horseback
3. Enchantment
4. I Just Moved Here
5. Magic Moment
6. Meet Me Anywhere (feat. Ethel Cain)
7. Looking Back
8. I Get It
9. Settler’s Bend
10. Last Riders Crew
11. I Was A Runner Once
Wicca Phase Springs Eternal — 2025 Tour Dates
07/17 Brooklyn, NY @ Baby’s All Right ^
09/07 Bristol, United Kingdom @ Electric Bristol *
09/09 Glasgow, United Kingdom @ Barrowland Ballroom *
09/10 Manchester, United Kingdom @ Academy *
09/11 Leeds, United Kingdom @ Project House *
09/13 London, United Kingdom @ roundhouse *
09/14 London, United Kingdom @ O2 Forum Kentish Town *
09/19 Austin, TX @ Antone’s
09/20 Dallas, TX @ Ferris Wheelers
09/22 Mesa, AZ @ The Rosetta Room
09/23 Los Angeles, CA @ Masonic Lodge
09/24 San Francisco, CA @ Swedish American Hall
09/26 Seattle, WA @ Fremont Abbey
09/27 Portland, OR @ Polaris Hall
^ with Comet
* supporting Turnover