Wavves: Wavvves

The streets of 19th century Whitechapel were shrouded in a thick, unrelenting blanket of cloud. Beneath this veil struck the razor-sharp knife of Jack the Ripper. Sometimes, the police were mere minutes away from his location, yet he always escaped their grasp.

The famed killer relied on the invisibility afforded him by the dense layers of fog in order to get away with his most heinous of crimes.

No-fi, or noise rock, can go either way. The rustic production values can be used to force the listener to dig deep in order to excavate the hidden gems held within the album. Conversely, like Victorian fog, it can also be used to hide a lack of ideas and weak song-writing prowess. Whereas bands like Times New Viking were vehemently in the former category, you cannot help but think that Nathan Williams, the man behind Wavves, resides in the latter.

A large quantity of his second album is filler to all but the most ardent of noise enthusiasts. "Rainbow Everywhere" is just a random sequence of computerised notes engorged with electronic shrouding. Similarly "Beach Demon" relies on lathering layers of noise over its repetitive chorus to present the illusion of variety. "Sun Opens My Eyes", "Goth Girls", "Killr Punx Scary Demons" and "Beach Goth" are equally futile exercises which go nowhere in their bid to fill up the album.

The distinction comes with tracks like "So Bored", which actually appear to possess a beating heart beneath the monolithic layers of static. This one, for instance, sounds like New Yorkers Radio 4 performing in the subway system at record volume. We observe the effect from street level, with an impromptu karaoke session taking place nearby. "Weed Demon" also succeeds in using the stylistic device to concoct a mesmerising track with a sublimely creepy undertone which is drawn out in the vocal refrain of the title.

As for the remainder of the album. You may want to use the equation [The Hospitals + Psychedelic Horseshit * (Drum's-era Liars - scant melody)] If the result is an integer you can live with, then by all means, soak up the cassette-era noise of Wavves. If you remain a little sceptical as to the reason for their embracing the digital covering though: it may be wise to avoid these dark alleyways.