Wavves - Afraid Of Heights

Wavves

Afraid Of Heights

(Mom+Pop)

March 26, 2013

 

Grade: A-

Wavves frontman, Nathan Williams, may very well be the poster child for ‘luckiest guy in indie”. He found a way to turn a pastime/side project of strumming away at the few guitar chords he knew through a wall of sonic distortion to make the monthly rent, into a legitimate musical career. Album after album, Wavves has served up the same cocktail of infectious beach melodies, filtered through washed out guitar noise and punk rock energy. So you’d be forgiven if upon a first shallow listen, Afraid Of Heights sounds like everything you’d expect out of a Wavves album; crunchy, fuzzy surf garage that’s perfect to bump in your car when you and the bros are heading for the pier and nothing more.

    But while Afraid Of Heights at first sounds like the same shallow, sugary pop hooks on the surface, there’s a surprising amount of hidden depth to be found. Wavves throw in some new experiments on the album unlike anything they’ve done prior. “Mystic”, “Everything’s My Fault”, and the ode to apathy, “I Can’t Dream”, find Wavves fiddling around with some very sparse, downright depressing arrangements. The faded out guitars, the psychedelic wash of noise, and William’s apathetic drone take you to an entirely different place, as emotional far removed from the “ fun in the sun” as you can get.

    Rest assured ,the feel-good surf rock vibes are all still ever present. Wavves don’t deviate from their trademarks too much, and as much as I rag on about their simplistic approach, they still know how to create some intensely enjoyable, sun soaked hooks. “Sail To The Sun” , the title track , and the bonus track “Hippies Is Punk”, are among the best tracks here and exemplify Wavves doing what they do best; mixing simple 60’s guitar pop melodies with the energy of an out of control wave pre-break through a wall of sonic fuzz. But this time around there’s plenty of variety to the otherwise one-note band. Nathan Williams weaves some subtle tone changes beneath the surface and for all the feel good energy, a quiet feeling of desperation manages to slip in; even on the “upbeat” tracks. (“Paranoid”, “That’s On Me” , the dreary chorus of “Beat Me Up”) 

    Afraid Of Heights has its fair share for throwaway tracks, but it’s not nearly as repetitive sounding as early Wavves albums. The subtle uses of mood shifts and the creative experiments here and there add some much needed variety to what would otherwise grow stale over time. Whether you're in the mood for feeling the sunshine, basking in the quite apathy, or both,  Wavves has got your summer soundtrack.