You're Welcome

While the songs are undoubtedly strong on their lonesome, You’re Welcome is a record that begs to be listened to in sequence.

You’re Welcome isn’t a mere homage to the history of popular music; the band has assimilated these influences into its own sonic approach. As a result, even Wavves’ familiar inspirations feel invigorated.

You’re Welcome ups his game, injecting infectious doses of glam-punk muscle, melody and engagement into Wavves’ trademark surf-punk melees.

For now, You’re Welcome is a welcome addition to Wavves’ discography, and achieves a range of maturation, both sonically and topically, that Williams has not previously exhibited.

For all its adventures into the weird and wonderful, You’re Welcome retains the hallmarks of Wavves at their most recognisable and best.

Not many bands release their best work six albums in, yet this could very well be the story here. [No. 142, p.61]

It's good that he decided to stretch his creative muscles a little on You're Welcome. It's even better that he came up with a smart and compulsively listenable update on the Wavves sound that kept all their rambunctious energy, but also added some fun tricks and treats.

Besides one failed experiment of a song, You're Welcome's 11 other tracks are not only some of the best songs Williams has ever penned, but some of the freshest, most inventive tunes the genre has heard in years.

Altogether, this is the sound of the former King of the Beach aging gracefully. Or as gracefully as this punk can manage.

What follows is a weird tangle of backward orchestral samples, bleeps and big-beat drumming. If the record seems messy, in fact it’s the opposite. There’s intention in every measure.

Originally whittled down from 40 songs Williams had penned from a jumble of sample-led ideas, You’re Welcome nonetheless features Wavves proverbial fuzzy guitar distortions and surf vibes, but includes his explorative forays into ‘70s psychedelia from South America, Cambodian pop and his obsession of ‘50s doo-wop.

He goes some way to making amends with some of his most endearing lyrics yet on You’re Welcome.

Right now they still seem to be in the reactionary phase, rebelling against the slick pop punk produced for Warner Bros. Ideally they’ll find a happy medium but for now we have You’re Welcome.

You’re Welcome feels stale, dried of both new inspiration or improvisational allure.

Ultimately You're Welcome is just another Wavves album, another collection of sugary anthems.

There's almost a manic feel to it. [Jul 2017, p.114]

Nathan Williams and his brat-punks have reverted to the DIY route--surely the natural seedbed for their scattergun sonic brainstorms. [Jun 2017, p.38]

They are perfect encapsulations of the snarky, fuck-you attitude that has been suppressed in the last couple of Wavves releases, but they don't have the scrappy, lo-fi charm that endeared fans to the band seven or eight years ago.

There was an inherently intriguing incongruity between his Brian Wilson-inspired melodies and the unfathomable level of DIY grime with which he rendered them on the first couple of (self-recorded) Wavves albums. Absent that tension, Williams's melodies must be judged by their own ingenuity, and on that count, the ones on You're Welcome, especially those in its back half, too often fall short of the mark.