King of the Beach
There are a good number of bloggers who are crowning San Diego’s Nathan Williams as the king of 21st-century surf music, never mind that he doesn’t even surf or that his project Wavves was named after his fear of the ocean. But Wavves doesn’t aspire to sound like the Beach Boys. Though Williams adheres to (and makes fun of) surfy themes, his sound contrasts fuzzed-out, lo-fi, indie-rock with bubblegum sticky pop that radiates overly sunny melodies. There’s also a punch of loudness culled from a collection of old school skate-punk 45s and ‘60s garage rock. Wavves’ third studio album was recorded at Williams\' parents’ house with the late Jay Reatard’s rhythm section and it sounds more polished thanks to producer Dennis Herring. The title-track is a catchy introduction, but things really get going with the hyperactive “Super Soaker” which parties hard with a keg of reverb, warbly tremolo, Ritalin-deprived vocals and a Farfisa organ. “Post Acid” is an infectious standout that plays like Seth Bogart from Hunx and His Punx hijacking the Vivian Girls.
In its quest for an endless summer, King of the Beach wears its California lineage with pride. It's major-key and resplendently colored, owing as much to Orange County skate-punk as it does to the Beach Boys.- Ian Cohen of Pitchfork 8.4/10
On this strong return after a tough year, Nathan Williams enlists Jay Reatard's backing band, polishes his sound, and embraces pop-punk clarity.
Though some audiences loved how Wavves’ sun-bleached falsetto vocals and buzzsaw guitar communicated the idea of adolescent ennui and THC-infused sturm und drang, they seemed less impressed with actual scrapped tours and childish feuding with other bands. King Of The Beach benefits from a timely team-up with Jay…
You see, he’s like just Captain Ahab without Moby Dick, or Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club without detention… He’s a rebel without anything to rebel against, the King Of The Beach, staring at the sea, wondering what the fucking point of it all is… deep, huh?
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Unfortunately, Nathan Williams half-asses his leap from the collapsing edifice of the lo-fi scene.
Lo-fi hero/antihero Nathan Williams ups the musical power on his third album, going for a muscular garage-pop sound that's fun for three or four songs at a time, but no more, says <strong>Michael Hann</strong>
The man synonymous with Wavves went from living in his parents’ pool house, watching “Cops” and smoking weed, to home-recording a collection of songs that set millennial dissatisfaction to distorted beach-themed punk rock, getting the indie music press all a-buzz in the first half of 2009, may or may not have punched out a Black Lip, had the same once-adoring music press attempt to torpedo him via ramped-up coverage of an abortive Spanish performance and finally, adopted the former bandmates of the late Jay Reatard, re-tooling Wavves into a rollicking, snotty three-piece.
After two consecutive lo-fi albums, Wavves' new record, King of the Beach takes a new direction under the wing of acclaimed producer Dennis Herring, whose past work has included such names as Modest Mouse and Mute Math. Unlike on Wavves' past albums, Williams is accompanied by Stephen Pope and Billy Hayes, former touring band of