Afraid of Heights

Audio Mixers: Chris Kasych; Rich Costey.
Recording information: Sonora Recorders, Los Angeles, CA.
After the fizzy psych-punk of his last album, King of the Beach, Wavves frontman Nathan Williams seemingly discovered a stash of albums from the '90s and fell under their spell while writing and recording the 2013 follow-up, Afraid of Heights. Working with producer John Hill (of Rihanna and Santigold fame) and loyal sidekick Stephen Pope, Williams crafted an album that is full of influences from the era of grunge, pop-punk, and '90 alt-rock. There are guitars that sound just like Kurt Cobain's, quite a few tracks that sound like Weezer deep cuts, lots of quiet-verse/loud-chorus dynamics, bursts of Pixie-esque angst, and a general feel of hazy nostalgia for the era. Although some snotty loser punk noise bursts through on the more straightforward rockers like "Mystic," "Cop," and "Beat Me Up," the rest of the album sounds like it came directly from an album by one of the bands that sprang up on major-label rosters after Nirvana hit big. Lovers of '90s revival bands will find Afraid of Heights right up their alley. ~ Tim Sendra