To the end of this harshness

To the acceptance of my core

To the grime I do not want anymore

Italian outfit We Are Waves have announced the release of their new LP: Cave, out now via Velouria Recordz, in collaboration with MeatBeat Records and Dirty Beach Records. The fourth album from the band, Cave is chock full of romantic melodies, post-punk energies, and emotional performances. We Are Waves, comprised of Fabio ‘Viax’ Viassone (voice, guitar), Cesare Corso (synths), Marco Di Brino (bass) and Adriano Redoglia (drums),  play a modern version of post-punk, influenced with new wave, synthwave and electronic music. 

With the anthemic sound and distortion of more mainstream early-2000s acts like The Killers, mixed with the sonorous crooning of Spandau Ballet, Nick Cave, and Culture Club, this album has many gorgeous twists and turns in its landscape.

“Cave is a journey into the deep personal crisis that hit me about three years ago, increased by the pandemic lockdown, says Viassone. “After months of total isolation I was crying for no reason, I had panic attacks and I was talking to myself. I was worried and full of demons. At the same time, I started a purely virtual relationship with the one who’d later become the love of my life. And, in the meantime, I started a psychotherapy path. These things helped me to react and shed light in the darkest depths of my mind. On a musical level, we defined the studio demos with nothing more than a drum machine, my voice and Marco’s bass. It was rough, fierce and beautiful. We liked it a lot.”

We Are Waves inject passionate poetry into their lyrics, weaving narratives of various forms of angst. “Sapiosexual” positively brims with lust; its howling refrain projecting pure desire and impatience.  “Something To Lose”, for instance, ends with a fading echo, as if the singer is disappearing into (the titular) cave. “Soy Boy” is a lamentation about toxic masculinity and the fragility it fosters. “Daylight Daze” has a Bronski Beat feel with a heavier soundscape.

The album is solid, with great danceable hooks and sophisticated songwriting. Listen below:

Since WAW’s debut “Labile” in 2014, the band has gained a significant following in the European underground circuits, sharing stages with The Chameleons, Front 242, She Past Away, Soviet Soviet, Lebanon Hanover, The Toxic Avenger and many more.

If you want to purchase the album on CD, it is available through Bandcamp.