Album Review: Wavves - Afraid Of Heights

It's hard to not feel a little nostalgic for '90s-branded alt.rock and grunge while listening to Wavves' fourth studio album, Afraid Of Heights. An album that wears its influences blatantly on its sleeve, it illustrates a sound that has progressed from Wavves' earlier raw, surf-rock sound to a mash-up of Nirvana- and Weezer-inspired alt.rock/pop-punk.

Afraid Of Heights is beautifully layered, with catchy, punchy riffs and subtle, memorable moments of musical mastery in most, if not all the tracks. Cop is a real stand out of the album, with an upbeat vibe that will leave you cheesily bopping your head for the short two minutes, certainly leaving you wanting more. It's also one of the few songs to showcase Wavves' ability to construct songs that don't revolve solely around self-pity, which is always appealing.

However' vocalist Nathan Williams ensures the self-loathing remains a large influence for most of the tracks of this album, with songs such as Beat Me Up and Everything Is My Fault. You would think the man would have gotten it out of his system after three previous releases, but lyrics such as “I can't act like I care/I'll always be on my own” in the title track say otherwise.

The album is more polished than the duo's previous releases, and is certainly the most catchy and infectious of their four studio releases, providing you aren't self-loathing, anxiety-ridden or severely depressed. Afraid Of Heights is an interesting step forward for Wavves, and definitely worth a listen.