Wavves
King of the Beach
Fat Possum
By Noel Wurst
“She won’t listen…I still feel stupid…I hate my writing…my head just hangs…I hate myself…I still hate my music, misery will you comfort me…I bet you laugh right behind my back…I’m an idiot, I’m a fool…I’m just not fast enough…I’m so lame…my own friends hate my guts – so what.”
It’s the “so what” that Nathan Williams delivers on the newest album from his Wavves moniker, the dance-drooling King of the Beach, that stands out far more than the aforementioned self deprecating statements he repeatedly makes throughout most of the record. Williams has always been “so what,” and the only argument one could make that he cares more than he ever used to is the level of production value that he used on this album compared to his releases in the past. Listeners who had a hard time getting through his music in the past may find this one more attainable and those who relished in the low-fi of the previous releases may not find King to be as authentic.
After repeated mentions about stupid he and the world around him are, Williams comes close to convincing you of his soft side in “Green Eyes” where he lovingly coos about being willing to “run aw away with you.” Right when you begin to fall for him, the song takes a violent turn as he grinningly relishes in the joy of being “sky high” and not giving a s*** or a f*** that his friends all hate him. Williams and Wavves will turn on you in a second, and based on his infamous Barcelona meltdown, you may think that you don’t know what you’re getting with him, but you do. It’s “so what” at its finest, no matter how shiny he paints the picture for you.
Wavves play The Drunken Unicorn with The NEC September 30.
