Wavves Rises To Greater Heights

Before 2013 I had heard little of anything by the band Wavves. What I had heard was a few songs off of their most well known record (and at this time still most well known, at least until March 26th) King Of The Beach. I had liked it well enough, but at the time it didn't hit me well enough to actually stick with me. I forgot Wavves faster than I would care to admit.

Fast-forward to the beginning of 2013. Wavves, the musical project of Nathan Williams, released the song "Demon to Lean On". When I heard this song my whole perception of the band did a drastic 180 degree turn. The song, a four minute grunge blast in a much higher fidelity than the rest of Wavves work, comes out bleeding from the same vein as Nirvana and Weezer. It's a sudden breath of fresh air, both to Wavves' sound and to rock and roll in general.

With each listen of "Demon To Lean On" and the album's other remarkable single, the rock-pop influenced "Sail To The Sun", a band that had once only managed to have my passing interest grew to be one the band releasing one of my most anticipated albums of 2013, Afraid Of Heights.

And now my anticipation comes to head with the release of Afraid Of Heights. And thank god, it lives up to expectations. The grunge influence of bands like Nirvana and Weezer and alternative bands like The Pixies (who are clearly heard in songs like "Everything Is My Fault") that were present in the singles maintains its presence throughout the album. But this isn't an album that just pays homage to the band's influences. This is Wavves growing into themselves by expanding their musical palate and becoming a better band with a bigger sound.

That bigger sound is the most intriguing thing on this album. Williams had made a comment before the record was released about wanting a bigger sound and on this album his hope that he could create that type of music comes to life. Before, Wavves work was a blast of harsh drums and heavily distorted guitar while Williams wailed without abandon. The music the band made was simple and effective.

This album does stick to that feeling. It still has the harsh drums and distorted guitar, albeit a bit cleaner than usual and with some pop elements in it taken from the bands mentioned above. There are also tiny things hidden away in the songs that give them a little more depth than anything else Wavves has put out. Some songs have a piano line that you can't hear until the song manages to slow down, or in a particular case one song has a sound byte of some random kid saying how easy it is to get killed in an accident in California.

All of these things are added naturally to the band's sound. Listening to the album you can't help but realize how perfect of a transition it is for Wavves to go from these lo-fi surf bums to hi-fi grunge bums. If there's been a more natural musical transition by a modern band, I've yet to hear it.

Where Williams seems to make the most changes with the band is in the lyrics. He still sings about getting stoned and all of the old subjects he used to touch on in older Wavves' songs, but it's a lot less frequent here. His lyrics have evolved onto newer subjects with his attention diverted to topics such as depression and self-loathing for most of the album. It's a pretty depressing album if you listen to the lyrics, but from the music itself, you would never know.

An intriguing theme also pops up on the album when William brings up Jesus on occasion. It's gutsy of a band in this day and age when most music with religious tones is shoved under the gospel or country category, something this album does not fit under. Yet on the album, Jesus is mentioned right next to bong hits and depression.

It's strange to think about, but it's hard to find bands that manage to put out anything past a decent first record, let alone reinvent themselves and grow better after being acclaimed for their earlier sound. But here we are with an outlier in Wavves. This album is the best thing they've ever done and so far my favorite of the year.

So, to end this, get this record. Blast it all summer, because this is some warm weather music. And go see them on April 9th when they're down in Boston at the Brighton Music Hall. They'll be there with FIDLAR, who put out my second favorite album of the year. It's can't miss stuff.

You can listen to Afraid Of Heights on NPR First Listen right now until the album comes out on the 26^th of March. After that you can buy it in stores. I will definitely be doing both.