Hideaway - Wavves: Review

Wavves

is the San Diego based surf rock and punk rock band, most associated with longtime frontman Nathan Williams. After a run of 6 records in less than 10 years Wavves took 4 years off before dropping a series of singles leading up to Hideaway.

Review By Lav:

While Wavves may not be a universally accepted critics choice for one of the most essential punk bands of the 2010's their snarky attitude and matter of fact songwriting continued to engage me throughout my teens years, all the way up to 2017's You're Welcome. The combination of their sunny songwriting and rough production understandably gives some people reservations about the band, but alongside the snarling youthfulness of Nathan's attitude towards his songwriting and performances the assembly shines. Even with that being said we are a few years removed from the last time the band released anything, and over a decade removed from my personal favorite, and what is generally considered their most defining project to this day, so entering Hideaway with some skepticism is healthy. 

The four singles were the first hint that the record may be a mixed bag, but even with some of their inconsistencies I still say the band hit on three out of four. The title track Hideaway is far and away my favorite and probably my favorite track on the entire record. It's a snarky surf rock JAM with tons of lyrical attitude and an incredibly catchy chorus. I love the vocal effects that include echo which delivers on its dramatic effect, but muffles the performance on the hook so Nathan's shouted vocals barely get about the sound of the guitars. This is exactly what I imagine a good Wavves song sounding like. Caviar was the last single to be released and its a pretty genuine love song that I enjoy more within the context of the full records cynicism. It manages to stand out as the finale with a sweet sentiment to match its sound, and aside from a pretty meaningless bridge I like what it delivers. Sinking Feeling was a confusing choice as a lead single given how reserved it is by the band standards but there are certainly things to like about it. The psychedelic guitar riffing is a pretty cool addition and I think the vocals being clearer actually work in the songs favor. I'm not sure that the songwriting is really anything special but the sound of the track and it's lyrical approach are a nice change of pace for the album. 

Planting A Garden kind of comes out of nowhere towards the end of the record to be one of my favorite tracks here. It has some edgy, slightly on the nose lyrical content and a sonic bounce between loud and quite that I find pretty exciting. The song is funny, catchy and engaging I can't really think of anything else I could want from it. Honeycomb is sort of a highlight, it's the records longest track and perhaps the most personal as Nathan dives into some of the mental aimlessness he is experiencing over an indie rock staple instrumental. The seriousness of the lyrics is only slightly undercut by the occasional "sha la la" backing vocals. Thankfully the song has an energetic second half that feels like a real tangible progression on its sound. 

Thru Hell is basically the Wavves blend of influences right out of the gate with some 60's surf rock vibes coming off the refrains but with an obvious punk edge to everything. I also can't help but cringe at the verses which for some reason remind me really strongly of Bowling For Soup's High School Never Ends. Thankfully I like the chorus a lot more with its exciting rush of instrumentation and hooky refrain. The song comes coupled with some guitar noodling on the back end that is mixed weirdly low and kind of swallowed by everything around it making for a very strange introduction to the record. The complete inverse of this is Marine Life which sounds like a Wavves song almost to a fault. It kind of sounds like a Wavves song generated by an algorithm mostly because it lacks any really strong lyrics direction or personality. 

Help Is On The Way sounds like a song from Green Day's Revolution Radio which isn't the worst thing ever or even the worst Green Day album you could be channeling but for long time Wavves fans it feels a bit reductive. The song has almost no bite whatsoever and is incredibly tame, neither of which are helped by a mediocre hook and the "oooh" bridge. The whole second half of the track just wanders back and forth between these two elements. The Blame is a western flavored song. Like an actual tumbleweed western rock song that is so utterly corny I can hardly bear it. The lyrics can be hard to make out but I do still enjoy them for the most part, I just can't see myself ever wanting to listen to this track again outside the context of the record. 

There's nothing on Hideaway that I think is egregiously bad, which is refreshing for a rock band in 2021. That being said it feels so loose and unessential in both Wavves discography and the greater world of rock. The band continues to fuse sounds in a way that I find unique and interesting. Plus Nathan's connection to the spirit and attitude of punk rock is as unbroken as ever on the records hardest hitting songs. There are a handful of great tracks to take away from this record but as a whole the tracklist reads as a merely okay selection of what Wavves have to offer. 6/10

Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:

This cover is really cool. The differing elements, composition, color and quality are all nice  Something like this could feel incomplete but the way each thing is rendered makes me extremely happy. While something could've been placed in the top corners to make them a little less airy, depending on what it was it could have also made it too dense. The gradient in the background fills the space and makes it feel deeper than it is. 9/10

For more rock check out my review of Cloud Nothings The Shadow I Remember here