Kristian Bell and Gianni Honey had previously played together in the Crooked Canes in their hometown of Peterborough. Honey was taught by former Morrissey drummer Spike T. Smith and played in local bands. Following the split of the Crooked Canes, the duo moved to Brighton to attend university and advertised around campus for a bassist. Daniel Rumsey was the only person to respond and joined the band. Rumsey was a singer-songwriter originally from
Dorset who had fronted the "horror punk" band Fall Victim before moving to Brighton where he fronted Dan Rumsey & the Bitter End and the Voyage Andromeda. Initially called the Witches, the band changed the spelling to Wytches to make their band name more easily found on
Google. The band also originally featured second guitarist Mark Breed, with whom Bell later started a side project with called the Mark and Kristian Band. The band released their debut single "Beehive Queen" in June 2013 via Hate Hate Hate Records and follow up single "Robe for Juda" in November 2013. In September 2013 the band released a low key limited edition cassette
Thunder Lizard Revisited. The band released their debut US single "Crying Clown" (originally the b-side to the band's debut UK single) via
Fat Possum Records in November 2013.
Annabel Dream Reader (2014–2015) On 4 February 2014, the band announced they had signed with
Heavenly Recordings and released "Gravedweller" as a free digital single. The band also signed to
Partisan Records in the US. The band released their debut album
Annabel Dream Reader in August 2014. The album was recorded over two days at
Toe Rag Studios in
Hackney, London and co-produced by Bell and former
Coral guitarist
Bill Ryder-Jones. The album was recorded and mixed by Luke Oldfield on an 8-track
Studer A80. It reached number 50 in the
UK Albums Chart.
All Your Happy Life (2016–2019) In August 2016, Mark Breed re-joined the band as a permanent member. The band released an EP of self recorded songs titled
Home Recordings in June 2016. In September 2016 they released their second album
All Your Happy Life. In 2018, the band parted ways with their UK record label Heavenly Recordings and US record label Partisan, leaving them unsigned. In March 2019, the band pulled out of a planned UK support tour with
Drenge plus several warm up dates, citing "unforeseen circumstances". In October 2019, the band played 3 gigs as a 3-piece with Honey replaced by session player Demelza Mather.
Three Mile Ditch (2020–2022) In May 2020, Daniel Rumsey released an EP called
The Darkest Day from a new side project called Dan Rumsey & the Dark Days. On 10 June 2020, the band released the single "Cowboy" via their own label Cable Code Records. It was also confirmed at this time that Gianni Honey had officially left the band, with Bell stating "we were disheartened by the whole thing. All the work that goes into getting a band off its feet and into the public felt like something we'd have to try all over again". On 2 October 2020 the band released their third album
Three Mile Ditch via Cable Code Records. In November 2021, Kristian Bell released a solo album
Backfire through Cable Code Records.
''Our Guest Can't Be Named'' (2023–2024) Demelza Mather had toured with the band as a session drummer since Honey's departure in 2019 and was announced as an official member of the group in March 2023. In June 2023, the band announced they had signed to
Alcopop! Records and would be performing a tour of the UK and Europe in October 2023. On 4 July 2023 the band released the single "Maria" and also announced their upcoming fourth album ''Our Guest Can't Be Named
would be released in September 2023. The music video for Maria'' was directed by band member Mark Breed. A limited edition 7" pressing of the single was released printed on
X-ray films in the style of
Ribs, a historically
black market method of smuggling and distributing music banned from the public. The accompanying music video was again directed by Mark Breed. On 22 September 2023 The Wytches released their fourth album ''Our Guest Can't Be Named''. The album received largely positive reviews, with
DIY Magazine describing it as "A wave-ride of glorious surf-sludge". On 5 July 2024, the band released the
Replica EP via Alcopop! Records. As well as Pentagram, it also features covers of tracks by
Porter Wagoner,
Chet Baker and
John Cale. Through mid-2024, the band began performing with new drummer Bhav Thaker, who also plays with the band Mademaker.
Talking Machine (2024–2025) On 12 August 2025, The Wytches released a new single called 'Black Ice'. Alongside the single, the band announced that an upcoming album titled
Talking Machine was scheduled for release on 10 October via
Alcopop! Records. According to Bell, the album’s concept draws a parallel between
Thomas Edison’s “Tone Tests”—events designed to fool audiences into thinking they were listening to live musicians—and the contemporary anxiety surrounding
AI and its potential to replace human jobs. Reviews for the album were largely positive, with
DIY Magazine describing it as "a commendable addition to The Wytches’ canon", whilst
Kerrang said "fired up with attitude and a dash of gothic coldness, Talking Machine is a dark and dreamy mystery". In October/November 2025, the band embarked on a 25 date tour of the UK and EU to support the new album. ==Band members==