Now with the liberty of turning attention to new creative pathways, Williams has crafted one of their finest albums to date, this record an unshackled upping of the game.
It both bears the hallmarks of the band’s previous output and nods to the more introspective state they’re currently occupying.
Like all great pop music, Wavves have managed to hit perfect juxtaposed balance between upbeat sonic catchiness and lyrical themes that lean closer to pain, frustration and anxiety.
Hideaway sees the band manoeuvre and mature into a slicker sound. There’s nothing massively new in terms of the themes explored on this record but you won’t mind that if you’re already a fan of Wavves’ personal brand of self-loathing, sarcasm, anxiety and depression.
This easygoing, smooth, and poppy record stands tall next to their finest work and only comes up a little short because it lacks the one or two killer songs that make their best albums really pop.
The fuzz-heavy pop-punk he was making back then still echoes loudly here but by connecting with producer Dave Sitek, the material also sounds crisper.
Even when Wavves tread some familiar territory, the nine-song album is so short and peppy that it whooshes by like a refreshing ocean breeze. Pretty good for a landlord!
Wavves are no stranger to this smooth-to-rugged combination, and on Hideaway, the mix feels like a familiar cocktail recipe that mostly hits all the right notes.
A warm welcome back after years of revisiting old Wavves, new Wavves is a bit more mature, maybe riddled with a few more demons, but here to get back into the music we’ve missed.
Hideaway could perhaps have done with a few more leftfield moments ... because while it’s breezy and over before you know it, that’s largely because the majority of it is in one sedate speed setting.
Hideaway is modestly of a piece, ambitious only in its musical open mind and intransigently torn point of view.
Wavves' Nathan Williams has given his social anxiety free rein on Hideaway, an album full of lo-fi pop-tinged melodies sugar- coating a bitter centre that was conceived in the shed at the end of his parents’ garden.
Wavves got predictable and boring. Also, it doesn't help that now Nathan Williams is a sucky landlord 😒
This band doesn't seem to have the same punch that they once did and I don't see myself returning to this record as much as I do some of their past work, however, I suppose there is some pretty decent poppy rock tracks and none the tracks were too bad. This is only okay to me.
Favorite tracks: Hideaway, Sinking Feeling, Marine Life, Planting a Garden
Least favorite: Caviar
1. Thru Hell [6/10]
2. Hideaway [7/10]
3. Help Is on the Way [5/10]
4. Sinking Feeling [7/10]
5. Honeycomb [6/10]
6. The Blame [5/10]
7. Marine Life [7/10]
8. Planting Garden [7/10]
9. Caviar [6/10]
TOTAL: 56 / 9 = 6.22
Landlord and bootlick notwithstanding, this is a painfully dull album.
Must listen: "Caviar" is ok enough to be a filler track on older albums.
1 | Thru Hell 2:45 | 54 |
2 | Hideaway 3:57 | 55 |
3 | Help is on the Way 3:23 | 65 |
4 | Sinking Feeling 3:33 | 77 |
5 | Honeycomb 4:11 | 55 |
6 | The Blame 3:07 | 55 |
7 | Marine Life 2:05 | 45 |
8 | Planting a Garden 2:24 | 59 |
9 | Caviar 3:47 | 46 |