Artist of the Week: Wavves

Started in 2008 by lead singer Nathan Williams, Alex Gates on guitar, Stephen Pope on bass, and Brian Hill on the drums. Based in San Diego, the band is ironically named after Williams’ fear of the ocean.

In their early days, they released multiple 7″s and cassettes before their first two albums Wavves and Wavvves. After people started taking notice of the band early in their careers, Ryan Ulsh was brought in as a touring drummer. At the time, the only two members of the band were Williams and Ulsh.

In February 2009, the band released their second album, Wavvves to positive reviews from outlets such as Pitchfork, Spin, and A.V. Club. Williams had a public breakdown when the band was unable to complete their set at the 2009 Barcelona Primavera Sound Festival. Williams cited a cocktail of ecstasy and Valium as the reason behind the breakdown.

Wavves’ third album came in August 2010, titled King of the Beach, it was met with generally positive reviews. This was the first album to feature the current lineup of Williams, Gates, Pope, and Hill. The album was named the 24th best album of the year by Spin Magazine and the 50th best of the year by Pitchfork.

In Sepetember 2011, Wavves released an EP titled Life Sux. It consisted of six songs, some of which included cameos from Bethany Constantino and Bob Bruno from Best Coast. The EP also featured a live song “In The Sand”.

The band’s fourth album came in 2013, entitled Afraid of Heights. The album charted at #81 on the Billboard charts, making it the band’s highest charting album to date. “Demon to Lean On,” the second single reached #36 on Billboard’s alternative chart. The band also made their network television debut on The Late Show with David Letterman, performing “Demon to Lean On.”

Their song “Nine is God” is featured on the Grand Theft Auto V soundtrack. The band performed the song on Conan in support of the game.

In September of 2014, Williams announced that the band is working on a new album. As of December 2014 the band says the album is being concluded and is due out sometime this year. One hopes that they will tour extensively in support of the new album.