Afraid of Heights
by Wavves
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 31
  3. Negative: 1 out of 31
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  1. Derezzination
    May 19, 2013
    5
    Afraid Of Heights by Wavves is a more quiet sound, there is less noise and more Grunge if anything. This album has clearly been influenced by Nirvana’s Nevermind. Whilst I’m not too big on my Nirvana, preferring Bleach to their other albums, I like the mix of sounds that Wavves have got on Afraid Of Heights. It’s not an obnoxious album like their other work could be argued as, but itsAfraid Of Heights by Wavves is a more quiet sound, there is less noise and more Grunge if anything. This album has clearly been influenced by Nirvana’s Nevermind. Whilst I’m not too big on my Nirvana, preferring Bleach to their other albums, I like the mix of sounds that Wavves have got on Afraid Of Heights. It’s not an obnoxious album like their other work could be argued as, but its sound is cleaner.

    “Sail to the Sun” has a very nice clean sound to open the album before getting louder in Grunge fashion. I feel that “Demon to Lean On” could even be a Nirvana song that was just never released. The lyrics feel very downcast with songs like “Paranoid”, “Gimme a Knife” and “I Can’t Dream”, yet it never seems to moan about anything too much, you don’t feel forced anything.

    The albums has it Nirvana echoes for sure, but I also get that FIDLAR surf punk sound that they’ve been putting out, as well as some California X vibes in the vocals, just more prominent. I feel “Lunge Forward” is the first track on the album that seems enjoyable to me. It’s not that I didn’t like listening to the first three songs, it’s just that the album seems to get it’s feet at this point, it doesn’t seem so weighed down.

    I feel that with this Wavves album, it just can’t escape that Nirvana song, I mean just listen to “Dog”, I’m definitely hearing “Polly” in this song, and because there is always that Nirvana ghost in the background, the album suffers from it. I can get that they were an influence and the tracks are going to show that, I just feel that they show it too much at points.

    This album’s ghost qualities are reflected in the sound of “Everything is my Fault”, it’s a very stripped down vocal heavy song that with reverb has that ghostly sound to it, and even though it features yet another acoustic guitar, with the inclusion of a beacon sound in the background it is the album’s stand-out track because dynamically it is so different.

    Overall the album doesn’t do anything special, nor new and you don’t exactly have a roaring time listening to it because it feels so depressing, but I think that works to it’s advantage. The sleepy final track “I Can’t Dream” feels like an album closer, and as a whole the album reflects the lyrical themes; it’s a bit of a mess. But if you’re a Nirvana fan you may get more out of it than most.    … Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
70

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
  1. The Line of Best Fit
    Jul 10, 2013
    70
    With Afraid of Heights, a record that, for the most part, is the sound of a band treading water. It’s perfectly lovely water, all the same; there’s a slew of songs more than worthy of the record’s predecessor.
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  2. The Fly (UK)
    Jul 9, 2013
    70
    Their kings of the beach crown may have slipped a little nowadays, but Wavves still offer plenty of no-frills fun.
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  3. Blurt Magazine
    Apr 23, 2013
    40
    Afraid of Heights is ok, it’s Wavves most sophisticated, it’s fun for one or two spins on a sunny day and the duo due take a few chances but at the end of the day, the thing that Wavves are most afraid of isn’t heights, its originality.
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