This album starts off with “Heaven Knows”, and this is a very crunchy, dark intro. And to be honest, from the sound of THIS, it really does sound like Wax Idols are about where they should be. This track has heavy production, zany synths, and a strong, driving beat. As an opening track, I honestly feel like we don’t get much more of a statement than this. The vocals are haunting, and in general Wax Idols sound great. I do have to say though, the production is noticeably cleaner than some of the band’s early work. But outside of that, this is a great intro. On the other hand, “Too Late” is a much more jangly, much more positive sounding track. I don’t know what happened here, but this one immediately doesn’t even sound like Wax Idols. Hell, I would swear this was the worst Garbage cover band I’ve ever heard in my life. Instrumentally, this isn't nearly as intense, and vocally I honestly couldn’t pick this track out of a crowd if I had to. But worst of all, where did all those Gothic and Post-Punk vibes go? It’s literally all out the window, leaving me completely baffled by this track. At the very least, “Belong” has that very chilly atmosphere I usually dig in the band’s music. And I’m certainly digging the very throttling riff. But what the hell is happening on this album? This started so dark and dirty, and the band sounded great. But this just sounds like someone is trying to desperately rip-off Savages. There are no teeth in sight, this is all just fluff and it’s depressing to hear. I honestly at this point would rather them strip back down to their straightforward Post-Punk. This is just sunny, and I don’t even know what to say anymore. Then we have “Mausoleum”, and at this rate go ahead and completely rip-off Sleater Kinney, whatever man. The intensity is long gone by now, the atmosphere is now completely sunny, and it’s way too clean. Wax Idols have gone from one of the freshest faces in these genres, to everything wrong with this genre, VERY quickly. Like, the chorus is certainly catchy and sort of memorable. But everything else about this track completely throws away everything this band has been working on for years.
Now, on the other hand, “Crashing” at the very least has some cool atmosphere and some murky instrumentals. But even more than that, Wax Idols at the very least sound like they are playing with some emotion. When was the last time I was able to say that about this band? For a change, this is actually a really great sound for the band. It takes the band’s signature murky, nocturnal sound but fuses it with some Pop hooks. Which, I guess is what the band were trying to do the first half of this album. But it comes off so much better here. It’s melodic in such a haunting way, without giving up anything that made the band what they were. Give me more of THIS. Then we have “123” which is woozy and atmospheric, and certainly one of the more unsettling tunes here. And to be honest, it’s actually pretty stunning. In a weird way, it almost reminds me of an atmosphere Blanck Mass would produce. It’s just so cold and icy, and totally against the sound of what they were doing earlier. It may be short and an instrumental, but it’s got my attention. The band continues to really play with some serious emotion with “Scream”. I really don’t know what was going on there for a while, but these later tracks while they aren’t the darkest or heaviest, are a super trendy Post-Punk alternative that sounds fine to me. The performances are passionate, the instrumentals have just enough of a retro tinge, this is just another really great tune. A warning though, Wax Idols are walking a very thin line here between Post-Punk and some Pop-oriented alternative. They have to be VERY careful moving forward. But for now, the very cool, just dark enough atmospheres continue with “Ashes”. I’m not as into some of the vocals here by Hether Fortune. She has a great voice and all, but it often does mirror a lot of her contemporaries. This is still a very solid tune, but deep down I still really want to hear them freak out.
Thankfully, they do just that for a few minutes. “Devour” may just be the darkest and easily the heaviest track here. There’s a strong bass groove, some seriously hulking production and sonically this track is just so well done. I love Hether’s very mysterious performance, and the backing vocals just come off so tortured. This right here is the sound they should be overhauled on. It’s just so heavy, suffocating, and it all comes off so authentic. But “Warning (Had It Good)” can go either way immediately from its very shimmering intro. And no, the rest of the track really doesn’t sound too hot. I get that every album is going to have some highs and lows. But this track is just weird and doesn’t even sound like Wax Idols. This literally sounds like some faceless Indie band that went for a retro sort of sound for a few minutes. Now, as far as the vocals go, I think this actually comes off great and is one of the coolest tracks here. But instrumentally, this one sucks the life out of me. And “Missed Call” is not what I needed to hear as a finale. The last thing I wanted to hear at this point was a stripped-down Low-fi ballad. It’s not pretty, it’s heartless and emotionless. Hether sounds horrible really, even without all of these effects on her vocals. And I don’t know, this entire track is just so watered down.
Now, on the other hand, “Crashing” at the very least has some cool atmosphere and some murky instrumentals. But even more than that, Wax Idols at the very least sound like they are playing with some emotion. When was the last time I was able to say that about this band? For a change, this is actually a really great sound for the band. It takes the band’s signature murky, nocturnal sound but fuses it with some Pop hooks. Which, I guess is what the band were trying to do the first half of this album. But it comes off so much better here. It’s melodic in such a haunting way, without giving up anything that made the band what they were. Give me more of THIS. Then we have “123” which is woozy and atmospheric, and certainly one of the more unsettling tunes here. And to be honest, it’s actually pretty stunning. In a weird way, it almost reminds me of an atmosphere Blanck Mass would produce. It’s just so cold and icy, and totally against the sound of what they were doing earlier. It may be short and an instrumental, but it’s got my attention. The band continues to really play with some serious emotion with “Scream”. I really don’t know what was going on there for a while, but these later tracks while they aren’t the darkest or heaviest, are a super trendy Post-Punk alternative that sounds fine to me. The performances are passionate, the instrumentals have just enough of a retro tinge, this is just another really great tune. A warning though, Wax Idols are walking a very thin line here between Post-Punk and some Pop-oriented alternative. They have to be VERY careful moving forward. But for now, the very cool, just dark enough atmospheres continue with “Ashes”. I’m not as into some of the vocals here by Hether Fortune. She has a great voice and all, but it often does mirror a lot of her contemporaries. This is still a very solid tune, but deep down I still really want to hear them freak out.
Thankfully, they do just that for a few minutes. “Devour” may just be the darkest and easily the heaviest track here. There’s a strong bass groove, some seriously hulking production and sonically this track is just so well done. I love Hether’s very mysterious performance, and the backing vocals just come off so tortured. This right here is the sound they should be overhauled on. It’s just so heavy, suffocating, and it all comes off so authentic. But “Warning (Had It Good)” can go either way immediately from its very shimmering intro. And no, the rest of the track really doesn’t sound too hot. I get that every album is going to have some highs and lows. But this track is just weird and doesn’t even sound like Wax Idols. This literally sounds like some faceless Indie band that went for a retro sort of sound for a few minutes. Now, as far as the vocals go, I think this actually comes off great and is one of the coolest tracks here. But instrumentally, this one sucks the life out of me. And “Missed Call” is not what I needed to hear as a finale. The last thing I wanted to hear at this point was a stripped-down Low-fi ballad. It’s not pretty, it’s heartless and emotionless. Hether sounds horrible really, even without all of these effects on her vocals. And I don’t know, this entire track is just so watered down.
Rating: 6.8/10
Give A Listen To: “Heaven Knows”, “Crashing”, “Scream”, “Devour”
Least Favorite Track: “Mausoleum”
Genre: Post Punk / Gothic Rock
Overall Thoughts: Wax Idols on this album walk dangerously close to the edge of being one of the fresher faces of Post Punk, and being everything wrong with it in 2018. There are some really great singles here that are very passionate and dark. But for every moment like that there's a loosely wound, shimmering Post Punk tune that sounds like it's way too polished to be anything of interest. Not to mention, there are countless tracks on here that I can't tell you enough how much it sounds like Wax Idols are ripping off another band. There's still tons of potential in this band, but this is way too polished of a Post Punk album to return to.
No comments:
Post a Comment