wavves

Wavves "No Hope Kids" from Pete Ohs on Vimeo.

I mostly like Wavves - SD REPRESENT! Doesn't live up to all the hype, but who does? The guy certainly writes some pretty decent pop songs, though. It's not his fault Pitchfork jizzed in their collective jeans and triggered a tsunami of unrealistic expectations.

I'm 37 and way out of the loop when it comes to what the kids are listening to. But I occasionally try to keep track of what the cool kids listen to. And lately it's been one disappointment after another. Wavves is about the lone bright spot. But the rest, Fleet Foxes, Jay Reatard, Ty Segall, Thee Oh Sees, Grizzly Bear, etc - I simply cannot get into. It's probably because I'm old and jaded, but there wasn't a memorable song in the bunch. I'd be happy to hear examples of why I'm wrong.

And what the hell is with the overly distorted vocals? It's not exactly revolutionary. If one of these bands were to do it, fine. But when three of the most hyped bands I've been exposed to lately are doing it (Wavves, The Oh Sees, Ty Segall), well then I start to think that maybe that's what is getting the bands hyped in the first place. A style over substance type thing. But indie rock fans couldn't be that gullible, right? In any case, the distorted vocals thing is the indie rock version of AutoTune.

As for a unifying theory behind this post, there isn't one. /andyrooneyrant