First Impressions: Wavves, “King of the Beach”

Wavves
King of the Beach
Fat Possum Records
Release Date: July 1 on iTunes

Track Listing

1. King of the Beach
2. Super Soaker
3. Idiot
4. When will you Come
5. Post Acid
6. Take on the World
7. Baseball Cards
8. Convertible Balloon
9. Green Eyes
10. Mickey Mouse
11. Linus Spacehead
12. Baby Say Goodbye

First Impressions

-If you’re expecting another loud, punk album filled with heavy bass, pounding drums and angst-filled vocals from San Diego noise-rockers Wavves, then no need to fret because that’s exactly what you’re getting on the band’s third release. Except this time around, the band has ditched its lo-fi MacBook recording process used to record its first two albums for actual recording time at Sweet Tea Studios in Mississippi with producer Dennis Herring (Modest Mouse, Elvis Costello, Ben Folds).

-King of the Beach was originally scheduled to be released on August 3. However, since the album has already leaked onto the Internet, the band will release the album via iTunes on July 1 and through all other outlets on July 13. The actual physical album will still be released on August 3.

-For this release, Wavves brought on two new members, Stephen Pope and Billy Hays – both formerly of the late Jay Reatard’s touring band – to form a complete rhythm section.

-The biggest notable difference in this album, again, is the fact that it was actually recorded in a studio and produced. It’s a much cleaner, more polished version of the band, which gives it a completely new sound and takes the band in a whole new direction. However, the whole “bored teenagers/pissed off at everything” repeated lyrics are quite similar to previous releases. Lyrics like “You’re never gonna stop me,” “I’d say I’m sorry but it wouldn’t mean shit” and “I still feel stupid” are sung over and over and over on various songs.

-The album’s lyrics sing of everything from relationships to messing up and then taking on the world to being completely insane and feeling like an idiot. The band’s songwriting remains as honest as ever.

-“Take on the World” and “Baseball Cards” sound a bit like Animal Collective’s “My Girls,” and “Idiot” starts out with 15 seconds of someone laughing hysterically.

Key Tracks

"King of the Beach," "Idiot," "Post Acid," "Linus Spacehead"

Predictions

Most fans of Wavves' previous releases should be pleasantly surprised to see the grunge/punk band clean up a bit on the new record – unless that whole lo-fi feel was your sole reason for liking the band. King of the Beach is a huge step forward, but don’t worry, the guys of Wavves haven’t gone soft on us yet; the album still rocks just as hard as previous releases.