Album Review: WAAX – Big Grief

Angst, angst, so much angst. WAAX have gotten angrier, grittier, and a whole lot more unapologetic in their brand new offering, Big Grief. Though those words might make your mind travel immediately to a place of, ‘Oh Lord, not another whiny punk band,’ this isn’t that. WAAX carry their gripes cleverly and creatively; they course through 12 tracks of unabashed, relentless realness, and there’s nothing not to love about this release.

Frontwoman Maz DeVita rips across some lilting melodies in the title track, a pensive but punk offering that is delivered seemingly effortlessly. Even the sublime single Labrador, cutting and impressive when it was released in April, with its who-cares-what-you-think tendencies, sounds somehow even more tenacious nestled among its brothers and sisters.

Though simple in its form, brave attempts at complexity are found in the vocal melodies on songs like History and Changing Face. In their most stripped back form, indeed, their most vulnerable form, WAAX allow DeVita to weave through intricate melodies and give their material its unique colour.

WAAX have redefined what it means to be punk in the 21st century. This is an album that makes a point, one that sits on the top end of the anguish scale without sacrificing the band's melodic ingenuity.

WAAX is managed by Leigh Treweek, who is a director of Handshake Media, owner of this website.