Wavves

Wavvves (Fat Possum)

We get it: Lo-fi’s awesome, one-man bands are rad, but is a shirtless dude in his bedroom with a laptop, a four-track, and a shitload of consonants all it takes? San Diego’s Wavves, aka 22-year-old Nathan Williams, is making fickle bloggers swoon. Williams knows his history, combining doo-wop with punk rock, and those layers of distortion on second album Wavvves sound pretty sweet after a day in the sun and three hits of cush. “Beach Demon” is corn-chip tasty, the apathy of “To the Dregs” rotates for days, and “So Bored” trips 1980s NYC. “California Goths,” meanwhile, gives us a contact high, and closer “Surf Goth” makes us spin. Williams might have something here, but his GarageBand tinkering will only take him so far. Wavvves is a small-dose fix; as a whole, teeth grind. (Thu., the Music Gym Patio, 12:05am.)

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This article appears in March 20 • 2009.

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