Wavves: King of the Beach | CD review

The title track of the third Wavves album suggests Nathan Williams has had enough of being the lo-fi guy who's known for cracking up onstage. King of the Beach isn't the work of a seven-stone weakling getting sand kicked in his face; it's supple and muscular garage-pop, with bursts of power breaking across the central riff like, well, waves on the California coast. Throughout the album, Wavves sound cleaner and more certain than before – though as West Coast albums go, this is far from the fidelity of, say, Rumours – and inheriting the late Jay Reatard's backing band has given Williams rather more punch behind him. The problem is that the album just isn't the best format for these kinds of sugary pop thrills. Pick any three tracks at a time and it's great fun; listen to all 12 in a row and the fuzzed guitars, falsetto wooh-woohs and the slight air of an extended prank start to feel trying, and the songs blur into one another like a stoned afternoon at the seaside. That may be the air Williams is trying to create, but he should remember that hearing stoners reminisce about that one time they got totally baked rapidly tries the patience of those who weren't getting totally baked with them.