These Waves Unleashed Upon the UK

5 piece post hardcore rock troupe These Waves have exploded onto the radar with their latest self titled EP which, to put it one way, sounds like the musical equivalent of giving that kid you used to know at school with ADHD a guitar and letting him run wild around classroom... minus the feeling of guilt. It’s frantic, energetic and seemingly relentless, in other words everything you could ask for from an in your face solid rock release.


Right from the off you’re hit with a wall of passionate strained vocals, immersive guitars, bulky drums and enough nicely complimenting vocal harmonies to satisfy even the least easily impressed music connoisseur. Chuck in a more than welcome dose of time signature alteration and you’ll find yourself unable to do much else than simply appreciate the subtle complexity These Waves have seamlessly managed to create with their enjoyable and genuinely interesting release.

These Waves willingness to avoid the pitfalls of repetitive and mundane riffs, uninspired lyrics and complexity for the sake of complexity ensure that unlike some post hardcore bands they don’t find themselves becoming stale and a chore to listen to time and time again. It’s the little aspects to each track that keep you coming back for more such as the odd but highly welcome smattering of cowbell in ‘These Questions Need No Answers’ which gives the track somewhat of a mathy feel helping to separate it from the other slightly heavier tracks such as ‘Consolation Prize’.

If criticism is to be made then perhaps a lack of real diversity between tracks might be bought up, but even this can be forgiven when the quality is so high. If anything These Waves have played to their strengths although it certainly leaves you wanting to see what else the 5 piece are capable of musically. With lots of influences running throughout These Waves it’s a surprise there isn’t more of a divergence from the post hardcore genre. Make no mistake however, what’s here is solid, well crafted and thoroughly worthy of praise.


Although I could bring into the question the slightly one dimensional vocal styles which degrade into mere shouts during more intensive sections of tracks, in all honesty I can’t because it just all seems to work. However although many aspects of this release complement each other it still feels as if These Waves could have done more with their obvious talents. Through listening to this fantastic release you realize These Waves have far more potential and the ability to make more of an impact than what they’ve achieved with this EP. What’s hear is brilliant and is more than worth your time but it feels almost bittersweet when you realize the opportunity that’s been missed. In many ways this is nothing more than a cry for more material as there’s no doubt that These Waves will well and truly capture your attention, lets just hope they make the most of it.

4/5
By Ross Haymes

DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE EP FOR FREE HERE OR STREAM IT BELOW...