We each cope with depression in our own way. For Wavves frontman Nathan Williams on the band’s fourth full-length release Afraid of Heights, it’s copious self-medication, followed by suicidal meditation. Using ‘90s-era skate punk as a vehicle for self-loathing, Afraid of Heights is a well-constructed dirge of an album, even if Williams hasn’t moved on thematically from where he was five years ago.
Opening with bouncing guitar strums and bells on “Sail to the Sun,” San Diego-based Williams starts the album paying tribute to the beach pop sounds of ‘60s California. Singing about love and sailing off into the sunset, things feel almost quaint, reminiscent of the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds. But just like the proverbial wave, Williams’s lyrics never fail to crash down in introspective misery. Though not quite Kurt Cobain, Williams marries feel-good punk sounds with nihilistic banter. It’s an odd union, but it works.
Weed and alcohol seem to be the only place Williams finds solace—he dedicated all of “Mystic” to the two substances—but the drug-laced content offers an ironic contrast to the sobering reality of Williams’s descent into suicidal self-destruction. Singing about “holding a gun to my head” and the desire to “put the knife in my brain,” it’s unclear whether substance abuse perpetuates or prevents his demise.
Musically, there’s no real high point to the album; standard garage punk abounds. But when Wavves attempts some clever songwriting, he succeeds. “Woke up and found Jesus / I think I must be drunk” Williams groans on the title track. When the buzz wears off by “Gimme a Knife,” Wavves feels betrayed. “I loved you Jesus / You raped the world / I feel defeated / Let’s all go surf.” Hard to argue with that.
The heights referenced in the album title refer to those moments of inebriation in which all problems seem to melt away. The fear, then, is that following every high, there’s a crash. Despite the talk of elevation, Afraid of Heights doesn’t really escalate; there’s no climax. But maybe stability is the point.
Voice’s Choices: “Sail to the Sun,” “Afraid of Heights”
