Wavves/ King Of The Beach

Wavves
King Of The Beach
(Bella Union)

Is there anything more idiotic than yelling ‘super soaker’ over and over? If there is, it’s probably on the latest Wavves record. It’s going to be hidden under the layers of sprawling guitar thrashing or tucked in just behind the relentless drumming; if not I’d check in the pockets of the beach grrrl backing singers – well, they do sound a little suspicious don’t they.

The record is littered with tokenistic nostalgia: Linus Spacehead (a NES game, FYI), Baseball Cards and Mickey Mouse are (a-)typical track names. With its up-tempo rhythms and glockenspiel fills you’d be convinced that King of The Beach was a light foray in pop music. Behind this thin façade there’s some blunt assertions conveying dark musings.

Green Eyes, for instance, sings of jealousy in suitably prosaic fashion, “My, my own friends / Hate me / But I don't give a shit”; It’s these biting undertones that separate Wavves from the other lo-fi Surfer punks of 2010.

Yet sonically, King Of The Beach is like re-uniting with a mischievous childhood companion to realise they’re not torching Duke Nukem figurines anymore. “Man, you’ve changed. You’re all smart and prissy. Where are your ripped trousers and weathered Clarks?”

Wavves have acquired a clean aesthetic, there are oodles of vocal melodies manipulated into harmonies - track Baseball Cards is a prime example of this, cluttered with modulated lead vocals and androgynous “Sha-La-La” choruses. Yeah, there’s still electronic interludes reminiscent of their LP Wavves, but they’re smooth and succinct. Sadly, King Of The Beach doesn’t have the shock impact of their previous records, nor does the slick production retain their gritty attraction.