Wavves are a rock band from San Diego whose most recent album 'Afraid of Heights' earned a place on my iPod as I loved their previous record, 'King of the Beach'. King of the Beach is full of infectious rock/punk songs that give off a 'I'm hanging about in the sun and I don't really care about anything' vibe. It is a lot of fun to listen to and whenever the sun is shining and the thermometer rising I don't hesitate to throw it on.
I was hoping Wavves would serve up more lively summer tunes on Afraid of Heights, especially as the first track is titled 'Sail to the Sun, but unfortunately it doesn't quite live up to its predecessor. That's not to say it isn't good - there are a myriad of short, punchy rock songs with big choruses on offer here. The aforementioned opener kicks things off at a blistering pace, 'Mystic' and 'Cop' are effective in their simplicity, and the chorus of 'That's On Me' - probably my favourite track on the disc - is immovably catchy.
There are two factors that let the album down. Firstly, I couldn't distinguish much of a theme or derive many feelings from the record. Many of the songs are decent, but it doesn't make me want to don sunglasses, swim shorts and bum around by the ocean like 'King of the Beach' did. Secondly, Wavves get experimental at times on this record and the result is two tracks that just don't work. 'Everything Is My Fault' is only two minutes long but drags on so bad it feels like five, and 'I Can't Dream' is uncomfortably whiny. I'm a stickler for listening to albums in their entirety, in order, but even I can't avoid scrambling for the 'next' button when the intros to these two songs come on.
Overall, Afraid of Heights contains plenty of enjoyable rock music, but if you want to check out Wavves I would recommend 'King of the Beach' over this.
6/10
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