Nathan Williams’ Sweet Valley instrumental hip-hop project over the summer was no fluke, but the Wavves frontman hasn’t forgotten the bratty fuzz-pop that got him this far, either. An as-yet-untitled follow-up to the SPIN July/August cover star‘s 2010 Fat Possum LP King of the Beach is due this spring on Mom + Pop, with production from John Hill (M.I.A., Santigold, Rihanna), Pitchfork reports. First listen “Sail to the Sun,” which already has a video by the directing team BLACK // DOCTOR, upgrades Wavves’ sound in a way that incorporates an awareness of beat-making without obscuring Williams’ characteristically snotty songwriting.
In fact, the long, chiming intro, with a spoken-word snippet about the evils of drugs, recalls the cult leader-sampling pop of New York-via-San Diego duo Cults, who similarly build their tracks, like hip-hop, from the beat up. And the rhythm section is nimbler than on past Wavves records. But Williams’ opening “I don’t wanna…” sneer quickly brings to mind fellow California slack-poppers Nodzzz’ 2007 nugget “I Don’t Wanna (Smoke Marijuana)”. The bleakly irresistible, guitars-blasting chorus, meanwhile — “We’ll all die alone just the way we live / In a gra-ay-ay-ay-ave” — provokes irresponsibly premature comparisons to the guys Paul McCartney is supposedly singing “Rape Me” with tonight.
The video, which shows a local-access televangelist living out his dark side, has the iconic potential to suit the song’s galloping gut-punch. Williams doesn’t sound so bored anymore, and the result so far is thrilling.
