Last spring, reformed synth rock outfit Robot Witch showcased a leaner, meaner, and decidedly more punk-tinged sound than any of its prior output on its Make A Change EP. In the year-plus since that release, the pared-down project played a handful of local outings as they set out to record a full-length. That forthcoming album isn’t quite ready, but with festival season on the horizon, the band wanted to keep its name in the collective consciousness of local listeners and bookers alike with a different kind of release.
As we await the 10 new original recordings Robot Witch intends to put out “later this summer,” they’re tiding over Milwaukee music fans with a four-song EP consisting entirely of songs by other people. Yes, the band’s fittingly-named Two Misfits And A Velvet Moth Walk Into A Bar features a quartet of covers Robot Witch recorded in recent years. As the EP’s title suggests, there are two pretty straight-ahead Misfits tributes—”I Turned Into A Martian” and “We Are 138″—as well as a bleary and bloop-y take on Velvet Underground’s “Heroin.”
The four-pack is rounded out in unexpected fashion, as the band covers “Superstar” by singer and founding member Matthew Lubus’ former project Moth Light. Don’t bother internally debating whether a singer covering his previous band’s song actually qualifies as a cover. Instead, spend a little over 12 minutes listening to Robot Witch paying homage to three different acts and stream Two Misfits And A Velvet Moth Walk Into A Bar below. Then check ’em out at Summer Soulstice on Saturday, June 14!