Commonly heralded as the father of the emo rap genre as a result of founding GothBoiClique, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal is the creative persona of Scranton singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Adam McIlwee, who brings his deep 808’s and moody synthesizers to Nottingham’s Bodega…
After a dreamy opening set from Care Charmer, who didn’t let the technical difficulties she faced spoil her momentum, Wicca Phase Springs Eternal arrived on the stage to a sold-out crowd of fans eager to catch his first ever performance in Nottingham. I always find it oddly satisfying to hear touring artists from America pronounce Notting-HAM and Wicca Phase did not disappoint on this front.
In fact, he didn’t disappoint on any front. Beginning his set with the self-titled track Wicca Phase Springs Eternal, he focused on his latest album, which is also self-titled, throughout the first half of the set, with tracks such as Moving Without Movement, Farm and Now That It’s Dark. While these songs do capture the dark moodiness of the emo rap genre, there were some moments that got the crowd bopping along, thanks to the grooving, upbeat instrumentals that drive a portion of the album.
The second half of the set saw him delve deeper into his discography, including 2020’s I Want To Go Out Tonight, 2019's Rest and Just One Thing from the album Suffer On, 2018’s Spider Web and High Strangeness, and 2016’s Secret Boy. The further back he went, the more familiar the crowd were with the songs, enjoying the moments where they could rap every word back. The singer was incredibly humble and grateful, thanking the crowd for their interaction with him and admitting that with this being his first appearance in Nottingham, he was blown away by the support he was receiving.
His role in the creation of GothBoiClique, the emo rap collective which is most well-known for the fact that the late Lil Peep was a member during his lifetime, is perhaps what drew so many fans to Wicca Phase Springs Eternal’s music in the first place, beyond his former fame as a member of Tigers Jaw prior to 2013. The repetition of the collective’s famous tagline was repeated throughout the evening in between songs, which encouraged the entire crowd to chant it over and over again, building the hype and momentum as Wicca Phase prepared for the next song on the setlist.
Perhaps the most heightened moment of frenzy was during the encore, when he performed the 2016 Lil Peep single that he was featured on, Absolute in Doubt. Despite opting to shorten the track in the live setting, which I heard some people grumbling about as they left the venue, it is a song that I never thought I would witness live after Lil Peep’s tragic passing in 2017. It was a perfect tribute to the late artist; hearing his voice echoing on the backing track behind Wicca Phase’s live vocals, I think everyone in the crowd could feel the emotion in the moment.
The Bodega was the perfect venue for an artist like Wicca Phase Springs Eternal; I would love to see more artists that fuse the emo genre with Hip-Hop appearing in Nottingham in the future. With the show being sold-out, there is clearly an appetite for it, and while the genre isn’t currently in the mainstream quite as it was in 2017 or 2018, last night proved that it is still very much alive and kicking in the underground.
Wicca Phase Springs Eternal performed at The Bodega on 25 January 2024
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