First(ish) Listen: Wavves

So, I have the bad (according to some people) habit of getting so into an album, it's the only thing I'll listen to, over and over, until one day I inexplicably switch to something else. I've been like that my whole life. Not gonna apologize for it, but figured I could turn it into a blog topic of sorts.

Anyway, I'm currently obsessed with the new Wavves album, King Of The Beach. Like most great things, it leaked early, but the fine people over at Fat Possum Records are taking it in stride, and you can stream the entire thing right now. I mean, this album rules. Much like a gin & tonic with a cucumber slice is summer in a glass, this album is summer in a jewel case (or iPod, I suppose). I seriously can't get enough of it. Each song is really great, catchy, simple, lo-fi and breezy. It instantly transports me outside on a sunny day, no matter where I might be listening from or what the weather's actually like. And really, aren't those the best kinds of albums? I've always had two tests: If an album can either take me to a different time/place or if I can lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling, listening to the whole thing front to back, then I know it's a keeper.

I was just home this weekend for the Fourth of July, and was really looking forward to sharing it with my brother. As soon as I started it up for him, he was instantly making comparisons.

"That song sounds like the Pixies."

"That song sounds like the Jesus And Mary Chain."

"That songs sounds like Of Montreal."

"That song sounds like the band on that cartoon Doug." (PS: '90s cartoons ruled.)

Okay, I'll give him a couple of those, I guess. But i hadn't really thought about Wavves sounding like anything other than a perfectly captured little snippet of a time, place, temperature and emotion. Each time I think I've picked a favorite, like the title track, it changes upon another listen. "Baseball Cards" and "Convertible Balloon" and "When Will You Come" and "Idiot" have all been my jams. When I started hearing comparisons to those other bands, at first I got a little bummed out, thinking maybe it wasn't as original and interesting as I'd first thought.

But then I listened to it again. Maybe Wavves aren't totally reinventing the wheel here, but they've put out an album that makes me feel really good, puts a smile on my face and gets stuck in my head for days straight. That's really all I can ask for out of an album–something that latches on to my psyche and doesn't let go. It doesn't happen that often, so when it does, I just have to roll with it. And you should, too. If you haven't already, listen to this now. At the very least the title track. Or "Baseball Cards." Or "Idiot." 

But definitely the title track. It's my new fave.