Wavves - Hideaway

 

I'm a long time Wavves fan. However, I've never covered them on I Don't Hear A Single simply because they don't fit with the new or under-appreciated tag. Hideaway is the San Diego quartet's eighth album and it could very well be their best.

I came to realise that many IDHAS followers won't know of them and felt that Hideaway was a must listen for the Blog Followers. The band's reputation for Beach and Surf has always hidden exactly what they are about and this album is the most varied yet.

There is a real variety to the these nine songs. Nathan Williams has never been a stranger to the surprise element. Alt Rock and Pop Punk are just some of the directions taken, but here he sounds much more grown up and happy to bathe in all his influences. 

The opening three songs are top notch Guitar Pop Rock. Thru Hell is great UK New Wave, Hideaway is all 90's College Alt Rock and Help Is On The Way has an absolutely killer chorus. But this pace and noise isn't that available elsewhere.

The Blame is a Countrified version of say, The Monkees. It's jaunty without ever being yee haw and Planting A Garden nears Psych Pop before breaking into something Posies like on the chorus. Marine Life is Power Pop that edges towards early 60's beat. Honeycomb even comes across up as popped up Doo Wop.

Whilst Sinking Feeling is the reminder of Surf with a killer riff, the chorus is the poppiest that Wavves get. Caviar, the closer, is the weirdest thing here, it is like three or four songs in one, It reminds me of The Orgone Box at times, at others something much more mainstream. Hideaway is a cracker of a listen. Highly recommended!

You can listen to and buy the album here. 

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