Artist of the Day: Wavves

Wavves is busting out of San Diego with its noisy low-fi surfer punk sound.  The band is vocalist/guitarist Nathan Williams backed by drummer Ryan Ulsh, who come together to create an impressive amount of noise and sound with their two-man band resources.

Wavves released its first full-length album in 2008 and followed it with 2009's Wavves, released on Fat Possum Records. Wavves drew positive attention from indie tastemakers Pitchfork. The 16-track record features short upbeat noise pop songs about being young, poor and bored ("No Hope Kids," "Bored") and the beach ("Beach Demons") - which is about what you'd expect from a couple of young So-Cal rockers.



Although a relatively young band, Wavves has already experienced some rocky times.  At the 2009 Barcelona Primavera Sound Festival, Williams and Ulsh got into a beer-sloshing, drum-stick-throwing argument while performing. Williams was reportedly a sloppy wreck, and fed up with his bandmates behavior, Ulsh stormed off stage mid-set. Williams issued an apology after the incident saying, "Mixing ecstasy valium and xanax before having to play in front of thousands of people was one of the more poor decisions I've made(duh) and I realize my drinking has been a problem now for a good period of time."

Check out part of the drug-induced train wreck:


At least he's got the rockstar behavior routine down, which always makes for an interesting show. Speaking of which, Wavves plays the 40 Watt Club in Athens on October 3. Doors open at 8 o'clock.

Who’s Who: Nathan Williams (vocals, guitar) and Ryan Ulsh (drums)
Formed: 2006
Label: Fat Possum Records
Latest Release: Wavves (2009)
On the Web: http://www.myspace.com/wavves

-Kristen Callihan
currently listening to "French Navy" by Camera Obscura

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