Being commissioned to write music purely for surf films would have to be one of the coolest jobs to land (alongside what David Attenborough does), and this is precisely what Waxhead were born to do. These scrappy Byron-bred rock ‘n’ rollers make super fun tunes that, as we enter the gloom of winter, evoke memories of cracked lips and sandy sheets in all the best ways. Their new EP Home is 5 tracks of abrasive grunge, hazy head-banger rhythms and surfy good times. Dive in.
Satisfy your inner dad-rocker and soak up the surfy-grunge goodness of Waxhead’s debut EP Home. Stream the entire EP here ahead of the official release.
‘Waxhead’ is a slang term for a surfer, beach rat, whatever you want to call it, and the band take no time in reaffirming the connection on Home. Animal kicks the EP off with the sound of a tape ramping up, then it launches into a stack of woozy riffs and growly vocals that are an amalgamation of John Butler and Kyuss‘ John Garcia. There’s a whole bunch of 70s riffage going on which, for a band like this, is so damn suitable. They seem like they are unapologetically all about having fun, an unpretentious party band who make music to lose your shit to. It’s no wonder they have scored support slots with bands like Thee Oh Sees and Dune Rats, because pretty much every track on Home would go down a treat in a dirty, sweaty mosh. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Walking On Air powers through with gobs of distortion, huge riffs and a killer chorus hook before scattering into a 70s psych breakdown. There are plenty of head-banger moments throughout Home that would make your inner-dad quake in his leather flares. Waxhead have taken bits and pieces from the last 40 years of music to create a pastiche of rock ‘n’ roll goodness. There are elements of Eric Clapton, Neil Young and Zeppelin but also 90s stoner rock and grunge like Kyuss and Pearl Jam. While there are moments that meander on tried and tested rock ‘n’ roll frameworks, somehow Waxhead pull it off with more charm than other bands that are trying to do the same thing.
Lead-single and title track Home is catchy a hell. Simple and driving, it ducks and weaves between focused rock and 70s drugginess. Slow takes it down a notch, adding a touch of darkness to an EP that has so far been relentless in it’s sunshine-and good-times vibe. It’s a sexy slow-burner that drips with reverberated surf twang, creamy riffs and chanting vocals, cruising along with bleary-eyed ease before building to an epic Page-inspired solo that I feel could have gone on for a few more minutes.
Home doesn’t push boundaries in any particular way – but I don’t think that is the point. There are plenty of moments on the EP that you make you scratch your head trying to figure out which rock-hero it sounds like, but sometimes it’s better to forget what you know about music and just sink into it. Just imagine you’re into surf films, not a nu-folk-electronica – or whatever crazy genres kids are into these days – and Waxhead will all make sense. You’ll be happier for it.
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