Inching over the precipice of spring at the end of the most brutal winter in New York City since the mid ‘90’s, Williamsburg’s Union Pool was abuzz. Flapping in the cool March evening was a large cryptic poster wrapped around a pole with the words “Have You Seen Witch Post?” plastered across. Not yet! Witch Post is Alaska Reid and Dylan Fraser, and later I would learn that their unlikely pairing is cloaked in serendipity. Dylan Fraser, a Scottish singer-songwriter, sent a cold DM to Alaska back in 2021, leading to a musical collaboration. The night before they were due to meet (for the first time) in the studio, the pair ran into each other at a Charli XCX concert. Five years later, here we were celebrating the release of their second EP, Butterfly.

Scooting my way to the lip of the stage, the group set up wordlessly amongst the chatter of the crowd. I told myself I’d go in blind. So I did.

Through their first track, ‘Ragged,’ Alaska strums through a slow-moving, hazy guitar-driven melody while her ethereal melodies float atop. The call and response between her and Dylan here felt both melodramatic and earnest. As momentum builds, the expansiveness of the track fills the room and the snarling vocals add a slightly sinister twist. This call and response dynamic between Alaska and Dylan works well. Between Dylan’s warbly delivery and Alaska’s glassy vocal bend, the pair’s voices meld into one another like roots growing around a garden’s fences. Close-knit and frictionless.

‘Dreaming,’ the second track on the setlist, continued with a similar momentum. Bouncing over mid-tempo percussion, the song maintains a bravado through its lyrical playfulness and bright, fuzzy waves of guitar-driven feedback. It’s a song that wouldn’t feel out of place on a Unicorns’ album. By now, Witch Post have won me over.

They continued to rip through their set, burning through songs from Beast (their debut) and Butterfly. I kept noting, track after track, the stand-outs. There were too many. Their stage presence was captivating and dynamic. As Dylan danced around the stage like he was exorcising a spirit, Alaska stood intense in her delivery. The whole band seemed to radiate a euphoria that I’m still feeling as I write these words from a diner in Brooklyn, 24 hours later. When these songs fly, they absolutely soar. Take ‘Tilt-A-Whirl’ for example, played towards the conclusion of their set. It begins with a Pixies-esque bassline as Alaska sings lyrics that dance around the throes of a crush. The kind that keeps you off balance. Dylan repeats the lyrics back to her as he bobs and sways around the tiny stage that now feels as massive as Madison Square Garden (somehow). They’ve managed to take this tiny stage and triple it in size. The tension builds, the emotions spill over and by the midway point the track overflows. The song begins to gallop. Dylan, now writhing and skittering across every inch of the stage, pours out confessions of a crush that he almost can’t get out fast enough. What began as an earnest, downtempo track has morphed into something halfway between Darklands era Jesus and Mary Chain in scuzziness and the catharsis of that first R.E.M EP.

The crowd, now returning the energy back to Witch Post in kind, are swaying like one solid mass. The song ends, Dylan rushes offstage and the band follows suit. For a few minutes, applause continued unabated. I think most of us expected an encore. Next time.

Witch Post at Union Pool Williamsburg NY March 20, 2026 photograph by Bobby Nicholas Ⅲ

Words by Conor Rooney
photography by Bobby Nicholas Ⅲ

Order tickets for Witch Post HERE