I feel like Wavves’ albums have been released in non-consecutive order. One of their first albums, King of the Beach, was fun, simple, albeit immature pop-punk that labeled them a staple in the southern California slacker music scene. Their last album, Afraid of Heights, was much more developed, both musically and thematically. However, their most recent album, V, reverts back to their simple, slacker sound and seems like it would fit much better between King of the Beach and Afraid of Heights.
V is still very much “Wavves-y” with honest, clear vocals and the distorted yet simple guitars. “Way Too Much” is the best on the album mostly in part because it sounds like a mixture of sounds from all their albums. On the other hand, all the other songs sound exactly like “Way Too Much.” They have a formula for writing songs, and without a doubt stuck to it with this album. While there isn’t much variety on this album, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing because they’re all catchy. This definitely isn’t Wavves’ best work, but it’s still distinctly Wavves.
Recommended If You Like: FIDLAR, Ty Segall, Audacity, Bass Drum of Death, Dookie-era Green Day
Recommended Tracks: 2 (Way Too Much), 3 (Pony), 6 (Redlead), 8 (Flamezesz)
Do Not Play: None
Written by Caroline Roe on 10/07/15