Wavves
Fat Possum Records
(2009)

Wavves is the project of Nathan Williams of San Diego, a precocious 22-year-old who’s been riding the currently fashionable movement of lo-fi punk that’s all fuzz and distortion with catchy harmonies. Like their name suggests, the band performs a boisterous brand of surf rock that’s less paradisiacal ocean waves than shit storm tsunami. The tracks generally run short, like the one- or two-minute punch of garage rock purist Jay Reatard and span from barely audible distorted harmonies to close-to-unlistenable noise that’s at once unpleasantly grating and curiously enervating. “So Bored” is the kind of track that rightfully lacks all the slick production and has all the precious energy of a garage band. Fans of high production values and sweet melodies look elsewhere: this is music for the kids, scene music if you will, but most of it is heightened by the chaotic layers of guitar and drums that somehow manage to sound just about right. There are some promising moments that demonstrate how Wavves is more than just a flavor of the times. Williams’ enthusiasm for sonic experimentation and multitrack recording can be a little overindulgent at times, but it’s hard not to dig into his almost primeval fascination with sounds. Tracks like “No Hope Kids” carry well the nonchalant cool of the band; it’s music that sounds accidental yet functional. Buried underneath all the distorted riffs, the lyrics are close to incomprehensible, but track titles like “Goth Girls,” “California Goths,” “Summer Goth,” “Beach Goth” and “Surf Goths” bring to mind a certain adolescent charm and youthful disaffection. This is noisy surf rock that stretches the aural limits of San Diego punk, a scene that’s constantly reinventing itself and attracting new blood.

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Visit http://www.myspace.com/wavves for more info.