Wavves - King of the Beach (2010) [Fat Possum] // Grade: A

I don’t know about you, but I was a little taken aback when Wavves first let “Post Acid” slip. This was not the sort of song I expected from Wavves. Sure it was jubilant and bursting with youthful exuberance, but it was the sort of slick song that seemed more akin to Pop-Punk than Nathan William’s sloppy and endearing brand of bratty Skater Punk that I’d grown to love from his past two releases. But you know what? Surrounded by the rest of King of the Beach, it all makes so much sense.

In a short span, Wavves had gone from toast of the resurgent Lo-Fi scene to very public stage meltdowns, band on band feuds, broken wrists and, of course, the eventual backlash that comes with it all. That’s got to be a lot to handle for a kid who’s just a few years past turning the legal age to drink. I’m sure there were plenty of naysayers watching everything unfold, salivating for a flame-out as the pressure mounted on penning the 3rd album. Nathan Williams probably could have just recorded another album in his bedroom, satiated his fans, kept Wavves in the blogs and even keep the wolves at bay until maybe he was deemed ready for a grander stage, but he took a gamble that paid off gloriously, detractors be damned.

Upon repeated listening, I can’t help but be struck by how similar King of the Beach is to Nirvana’s Nevermind. I don’t say that in anyway to compare Nathan Williams to Kurt Cobain, because, well the two and these albums are nothing alike*. But the comparison I refer to is more about the jump from Bleach to Nevermind and a band so willing to embrace a producer, a vision for their music and willingness to go from point A to point B without compromising what made them who they are to begin with. We all now where point B was for Nevermind, so discount the impact of King of the Beach at your own discretion and read on.

Armed with Jay Reatard’s (RIP) touring rhythm section as his new band, Wavves entered an honest-to-god studio with an honest-to-god producer (Dennis Herring of Modest Mouse’s Good News) to take all that bratty potential that Wavves and Wavvves hinted at into full blown force to be reckoned with. This brand new Wavves is not unlike the old Wavves, it’s just got a fresh coat of paint and some speed tails that really suit it.

So first things first, let’s get the album’s production values out of the way, because there’s no way to discuss the album without bringing up the shift from what the band was to what it is now. The band’s songwriting has always leaned towards clean and bright pop, but their willingness to embrace this in full on King of the Beach makes all the difference. There’s little resistance here, just a band and a producer working with a singular goal in mind to get the most out of one another. This is no longer endearing bedroom pop, it’s something that lingers in between Beach Boys Pysch/Surf and honest to god Power Pop so sweet that it’ll hurt your teeth. From the crisp guitars, bright vocals, Surf Rock-inspired reverb down to the plentiful “Sha Na Nas” and “Ooh Wee Oohs,” King of the Beach is an addictive high that you’ll keep coming back to. But the single most impressive part of King of the Beach isn’t how catchy it is, but that Wavves shot for the moon on this release and knocked it out of the park.

And production shift aside, it’s Nathan who’s still the star of the show. His bratty voice, devil-may-care attitude and gift for melody are all still what Wavves is about at its core. He’s why you keep coming back again and again to these songs; Dennis Herring’s production merely allows him to come forward from the jangle and haze, more exposed, vulnerable and likable than he’s ever been.

Take a song like “Green Eyes”: while there’s no doubt that it could easily have been written on either of the two previous Wavves albums, only on King of the Beach is it allowed to be the sort of overpowering, angst-ridden ballad it demands to be.  While songs like “So Bored” were made for apathetic slacker anthems for the underground, it’s songs like “Take on the World” that will become anthems for disenfranchised youth all across the world.

King of the Beach is all about isolating everything that made Wavves first two releases so captivating, maximizing the experience and cranking it up to ten. This isn’t just another album, it’s a coming out party onto a grander stage that Wavves clearly seems intent on owning for a long time to come.

*Upon writing that I went back and re-listened to the lyrics on King of the Beach and discovered that comparing the two wasn’t as off base as I first thought. Sure Nathan isn’t as angry and morose as Kurt Cobain, but there is a distinct similarity in how they phrase youthful defiance as a whole.

- My Pal the Crook