ALBUM REVIEW: WITCH – Sogolo

Partisan Records

Released: 14.06.25

WITCH (We Intend To Cause Havoc) aren’t chasing nostalgia on Sogolo. They’re twisting it into something stranger, slicker, more defiant. Led once more by Emmanuel ‘Jagari’ Chanda, the Zamrock pioneers treat the past more like a raw material than a memory – jagged guitars meet ritual grooves; ambient synths swirl like mist over a scorched landscape.

Where 2023’s Zango reintroduced the legend, Sogolo (meaning future, and the band takes that literally) reframes it. On Kamusale and Queenless King, Chanda peacocks with gusto, his zesty croon swathed in fuzzy funk. Elsewhere, Dancer On A Trip unfurls with a looseness that’s more organic than fluky. WITCH haven’t mellowed with age. If anything, they’ve sharpened their edges. Havoc isn’t a threat, it’s the point.