This past year many of us have experienced a flood of anxiety with the chaos that has been the pandemic. So when San Diego slackers Wavves channelled this into their new single ‘Sinking Feeling’ we knew it wasn't just another pop-punk anthem.
With three years since their last release, fans have long awaited new music from the group. It seems during the pandemic, frontman Nathan Williams and his band have been uncharacteristically busy. The Wavves sound has veered from the rambunctious musings of their debut album King of the Beach (2010) to something much more cinematic. Sunny guitar chords and a humming drum fill are all driven by a Tarantino-esque bass line. A voice vaguely familiar yet softer spoken enters the scene.
“It's there on your face
It sits in your mind
It's like this all the time”
William’s previously gritty voice has been polishing up and shifted a gear higher.
Although we start with baking sun, palm fronds and fruity daquiris it's not long before the listener is smacked with something darker. Williams states, "Sinking Feeling is a song about a wave of depression that keeps coming back. It’s that sinking feeling that drags you down and no matter what you do or where you go it follows you." Surfacing an important conversation about mental health the track is sweet and sour - Wavves' idea that like our minds the although sometimes idyllic can be home to darkness below the depths.
Wavves has crafted the perfect soundtrack to morning after a night at Surfers Paradise. Mistakes made, we hit the motorway nursing a headache, a multitude of regrets and one poorly rolled JPS smoke.
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