It’s been a great 6 months for wizard rock. In addition to numerous online concerts (including a 12-hour long festival!), the return of Yes All Witches grants and the launch of WZRD Radio, lots of artists both new and old have released lots of great new songs! Plus, several rare and out-of-print wrock releases have been given new life and new listeners through the Wizrocklopedia Music Archive and elsewhere. I am now proud to present a chronological list of ALL the wizard rock released or rereleased from the 1st of January to the 30th of June, 2020, totaling 38 releases and more than 130 songs! This is the first of three parts—stay tuned for the second part tomorrow! Enjoy the tunes and please support the artists! All of them are awesome and completely worth your time. If I missed any releases, let me know in the comments below or at wizrocklopedia [at] gmail [dot] com! Also, please comment and tell us what songs you liked the most—and what you’re excited to hear about next! Here are parts two and three if you want to read them!
January 1: Pussycat Dolores – Boss Witch album: Bandcamp | iTunes | Spotify | YouTube
This album by Swedish auteur Pussycat Dolores set off the year right. Featuring a mix of comedic and reflective tunes, this album both deepens the character of Dolores Umbridge and provides a rallying cry for fans in the modern age.
January 3: Creevey Crisis – Letters in Fall EP: Bandcamp | iTunes | Spotify | YouTube
This latest EP by longtime wrocker and ‘Pedia alum Creevey Crisis is a change from his usual work—it’s acoustic! CC’s songs transform into beautiful and lilting ballads under this approach.
January 10: Zac Anger – “Don’t Kill Ginny:” Bandcamp | “Page 596:” Bandcamp
This underground musician reissued two old wrock songs on his latest compilation. “Don’t Kill Ginny” is a plea to not kill Ginny when the 7th book comes out, so it’s quite a bit out of date. However, “Page 596,” about Severus Snape and Dumbledore’s death, wonderfully evokes the anger and the sadness of the situation and definitely stands the test of time!
Sometime in January: Newt Skabander – Pick It Up! (Demos) EP: Bandcamp
Wrockin’ ska band Newt Skabander released their debut EP in December 2019, but they added two additional tracks to it at some point in January. One song is straightforward Newt Scamander storytelling, and one is solid social commentary!
March 15: Dwight Evan Young – “Always:” Bandcamp | iTunes | Spotify | YouTube
Young’s debut wizard rock single features a delightful carousel-like sound and heartbreakingly beautiful lyrics from Snape’s perspective at his death.
March 20: Robert Shredford – “Moaning Myrtle:” Bandcamp | iTunes | Spotify | YouTube
Indie rockers Robert Shredford had a wrock song on their debut EP—it’s about how Moaning Myrtle is all sexually frustrated and stuck in the bathroom! It also wrocks pretty hard!
March 20: Tom Smith – “Hogwarts Holodeck:” Bandcamp
I guess March 20 was the goofy sexy wizard rock day, because filk legend Tom Smith included a wacky Star Trek/Potter crossover song on his newest album Holy Crap! We should have crossovers like this more often.
Sometime in March: Les Barnabas Cuffe – “Harry Est Là – (hallelujah):” Soundcloud | “La tristitude Harry Potter:” Soundcloud
This French wizard rock band released two singles in early 2020, both of which are lo-fi, acoustic and have clever lyrics (in French). “Harry Est Là – (hallelujah)” is a parody of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah!” Looking forward to hearing much more from this musician!
April 17: Jack Forman – “Little Dobby Does It:” iTunes | Spotify | YouTube
Jack Forman of the comedy rock band Recess Monkey included a single wrock song on his latest solo album. It’s a fun tribute to Dobby’s awesome deeds and how cool he was! Dig it!
May 1: Harry and the Potters – Mostly Camping album: Bandcamp
This album by Harry and the Potters consists of outtakes from the writing sessions for their 2019 album Lumos. But boy these outtakes are incredible songs and the album is just as cohesive as Lumos, just in a totally different way!
That only takes us up to the beginning of May—come back tomorrow for the second part of the January-June 2020 Wizard Rock Six Month Report! And believe me when I tell you that the incredible releases are only just getting started. Thanks for reading!
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