Released:
Rating:
It’s silly stuff, but it’s also great fun.
Label: Ghost Ramp
Released: 19th May 2017
Rating: ★★★
Wavves are an odd beast. Started as a vehicle for singer/guitarist Nathan Williams, the band has been around in some form or another for nearly a decade now, surviving a meltdown in 2009 and a touring schedule that at one point consisted of 100 beers a day between the four of them.
New album ‘You’re Welcome’ picks up the lo-fi, scuzzy sound that Wavves are best known for and runs with it. Opening track ‘Daisy’ sounds like it could be a cover of an unreleased FIDLAR track, and the whole album feels a lot less like it was recorded on a hangover than ‘V’, the group’s last LP.
Tracks like ‘Hollowed Out’ and ‘Stupid In Love’ are reminders of just how much there is to love about Wavves, all fuzzy vocals, wonky lyrics and choruses that are just made for screaming along to at gigs. ‘Daisy’ is also a complete banger, with a catchy guitar hook and lyrics like “My winter lake house is freezing cold/ and my polar bear don’t do what he’s told.” It’s silly stuff, but it’s also great fun.
This being said, ‘You’re Welcome’ does make a few missteps. ‘Come To The Valley’ sounds like the band’s take on the theme to a children’s TV show, but doesn’t quite commit to the concept, leaving it unclear whether you’re meant to laugh or just skip the song. Final track ‘I Love You’ also disappoints a slower ballad style song that isn’t bad but just doesn’t fit well at the end of such a high energy album.
It’s a shame because by and large, ‘You’re Welcome’ is a good album, but the occasional step in the wrong direction and a tendency for it to feel like they might be a little bit too comfortable in their niche combine to stop it from being a great one. Jake Hawkes
