This split LP between Fostercare and Ritualz is pretty insane stuff. With neither artist content to just bust out the same old tired beats again and again what one gets with this record is an avalanche of ‘haunted pop’ with synths that seem to be trying their very best to make your head explode and your body implode.
Identified largely with the ‘witch house’ scene that’s coming out of America with acts like Salem, these two artists don’t really take much explaining. Most of the time, this LP is the dance equivalent of hardcore music. There’s true bile on this record. It feels like both Ritualz and Fostercare want to punch your lights out and then persuade your unconscious body to do crazily agile limbed dancing. There’s a dark atmosphere present here (apparently that’s pretty much all that witch house needs) that is particularly prominent on the opening Fostercare salvo, especially the rather haunting 'ADHD'. Vocals aren’t a no-no on this record but their purpose seems not to be to give the songs an accessible edge but instead to add another dimension of something approaching cacophonous darkness to the mix. This isn’t cheerful music for cheerful times.
Nor however can it truly be said that this split retains the same aura of the dark throughout that it clearly intends to. At times this is practically just dance music, good dance music but dance music nonetheless. Synth based music has a tendency to divide itself into any number of subcategories and genres but, unlike in large swathes of guitar music, most of these categories and genres are nothing more than a label. They don’t really seem to mean anything at all. If you want music to force you to feel the beats then this is the album for you. If you find yourself drawn in by the darkness of ‘witch house’ then you will find something for you here...but you will probably still end up with a smile on your face.
This split LP is available now through Robot Elephant Records.
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Identified largely with the ‘witch house’ scene that’s coming out of America with acts like Salem, these two artists don’t really take much explaining. Most of the time, this LP is the dance equivalent of hardcore music. There’s true bile on this record. It feels like both Ritualz and Fostercare want to punch your lights out and then persuade your unconscious body to do crazily agile limbed dancing. There’s a dark atmosphere present here (apparently that’s pretty much all that witch house needs) that is particularly prominent on the opening Fostercare salvo, especially the rather haunting 'ADHD'. Vocals aren’t a no-no on this record but their purpose seems not to be to give the songs an accessible edge but instead to add another dimension of something approaching cacophonous darkness to the mix. This isn’t cheerful music for cheerful times. 
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