West Wickhams craft a neon-goth daydream on new EP 'Sakura'

West Wickhams have always been ones to tread their own path through the industry. And their new five-track hallucination 'Sakura' is another step into their beautifully strange parallel world, where post-punk static meets candy-coated melancholy and the ghosts come dressed in fabulous outfits.

What’s instantly gripping about 'Sakura' is how alive it feels. Jon Othello and Elle Flores lean hard into mood, building each track like a little diorama populated with flickering synths, dusty drum machines, and vocals that hover somewhere between a whisper and an omen.

'Up to the Old Tricks' kicks things off with a dizzy, kaleidoscopic pulse. It’s the kind of opener that sneaks into your bloodstream, all kinetic rhythm and sly charm, setting the stage for the EP’s blend of dream logic and post-punk snap.

'Ice Block' follows with a glacial glow, as Flores’ voice drifts like breath on cold glass. There’s a reflective beauty to it, delicate but edged with something aching, as if the song might crack under its own weight at any moment.

The EP’s most cinematic moment arrives with 'As the Camera Shuts', which plays like an art-house vignette caught in the instant between memory and disappearance. It shimmers and trembles, as though stitched together from fragments of forgotten film reels.

Then 'EQ the Viper' injects a jolt of adrenaline to deliver something volatile, reptilian, and absolutely addictive. It’s a twitching swirl of warped electronics and snarling basslines that turns a dimly lit bedroom into a club of one. Here, West Wickhams show their flair for chaos wrapped in melody.

But it’s 'Save Yourselves' that seals the spell. A final, atmospheric flare shot across the twilight sky, charged with a kind of haunted tenderness. It feels like a warning delivered from a future timeline, yet it’s still somehow soothing.

What elevates 'Sakura' is how it manages to feel intimate and theatrical simultaneously. West Wickhams have always thrived in the realm where DIY roughness meets high-concept aesthetics, but here they refine that balance into something enchanting.

In 'Sakura', cherry blossoms are neon petals swirling through a post-punk dreamscape. Fleeting, fragile, and radiant, West Wickhams capture their fall and make it feel eternal.