#war waves

[b-sidemusic]

INTERVIEW: WAR WAVES – LACK IN BLACK

Ahead of their hometown headline appearance at Ipswich Smokehouse this Friday, B-Side’s Seymour Quigley spoke to Marc Newby, singer/guitarist with masters of anthemic emotional intensity War Waves, about Tom Hardy, getting naked for Jesus and the band’s new album ‘All That We Lack’. 

 B-Side: How are you this relatively unshitty October afternoon, Marc?

Marc: I’m above adequate thank you! I’m beginning to get a cold I think, but pretty good apart from that.

B-Side: Colds are an occupational hazard for all good humans, Marc.  Please rest assured that if I could personally suck all the sickness from your nostrils, like I imagine Jesus might have done, I surely would.  I just wanted you to know that before the interview begins.  Because I love you.

Marc: You don’t know how much that means to me. I feel better already.

B-Side: Are you feeling sufficiently reassured that this is a Christ-enforced safe space?

Marc: As safe as any Christ-place can be… I’ll CROSS my fingers it stays that way.

B-Side: I can already tell that this interview's going to be NEW TESTAMENTAL.  Shall we just do this for half an hour and presume it's what B-Side's readers wanted?

Marc: I assumed that’s what you asked me here for?  Unless your real questions are hidden under a SHROUD of lies.

B-Side: And you assumed correctly.  Now, your new album, 'All That We Lack', came out not too long ago and it's very good.  Obviously, the songs sound ace individually, but the album flows so nicely it gives the impression that you wrote it as a continuous listening experience. I'm kind of skirting around saying "Concept Album" here, but… DID YOU WRITE A CONCEPT ALBUM, MARC?

Marc: I think I did…  well, a themed album certainly. It was the first time I’ve sat down to write an “album”, rather than a series of songs which made up a record, you know?  After three or four songs, there were definite reoccurring traits and words coming through and that made it easier to write, once I had the freedom to not worry about repetition and similar ideas - because if it’s deliberate, it works.  We wanted the songs to flow into each other, as that’s what we aim for live, so it’s pleasing that you recognised that. Think of it like Tommy, but with more nasal singing.

B-Side: Lyrically, the album seems to lift in tone as it progresses, becoming - or at least seeming - more hopeful towards the end; it feels as if you've switched from documenting the subject matter to offering consolation.  Is that how you intended it to feel?

Marc: I think so, yes. It’s funny, I don’t always know the full meaning behind the songs when I first write them. I have a very frustrating writing process. They ether come out naturally in one go, or I’ll jam the same idea around for seemingly hours, recording it all, and picking out the words at the end and tying them all together. I can’t force myself to write, it just comes out…  It took me a while to figure out if I am happy or sad at the end of the album. It’s about death, specifically mine, but I think I’m ok with it.

B-Side: So if 'All That We Lack' ends with your death, where does the next album begin?

Marc: Well, this goes full circle doesn’t it - my RESURRECTION!  I think it was more about my imagined death… which ultimately didn’t happen, so here I am I guess.

B-Side: It could be like a musical version of 'The Revenant', with you battling incredible odds to track down Tom Hardy.  Which, to be fair, is quite a worthy life goal.

Marc: I wish I was Tom Hardy.

B-Side: He is quite possibly humanity's peak.  It's downhill all the way from here, like a decreasingly sexy rollercoaster.  Now, you're headlining Ipswich's Smokehouse this Friday (13th October) with Goldblume and Pale Girls, which is brilliant for two reasons: Firstly, because they're ace bands, and secondly, because The Smokehouse is the best thing to happen to Ipswich in quite some time.  Discuss.

Marc: True dat. They are ace bands. I’m hoping Goldblume and Pale Girls are going to turn into our touring buddies.  And yes, The Smokehouse is remarkable. It’s such a rad, fun venue. It’s amazing. They deserve a lot of credit; it’s the best thing since the (much-missed Ipswich toilet venue) Drum and Monkey days.

B-Side: Continuing a discussion we had with Tundra last week, what fancy gimmicks will you be pulling out of the Headlining Rock Band book of live shenanigans this Friday?  I'm thinking along the lines of the Prodigy's zorbs, Rammstein's dinghy, AC/DC's train, and Oasis's standing there being unbelievably fucking boring.

Marc: There’ll be projector, so I’m thinking of having all of Corinthians written out.  Or, doing my usual thing of not talking to the crowd and looking at the floor hitting myself in the head. Naked.

B-Side: I mean, if you can find a way to combine both, that would be ideal.  Also, I like the way we found Jesus again at the end.  If anything, this proves only that we are strong in Christ's love, and naked in it too.  Marc from War Waves, it's been a pleasure talking with you today.  Before we go, are there any statements or observations you'd like to make, musical or otherwise?

Marc: I’m in love with Phoebe Bridgers’ new album (‘Stranger In The Alps’), so I want to share that. It’s incredible.

THE LOWDOWN: WAR WAVES Members: Marc Newby (guitar, vocals), Andrew Girling (guitar), David Booty (bass), Dan Dolman (drums). From: Ipswich. Listen to: ‘All That We Lack’ album, CD/download, out now. See them live at: Ipswich Smokehouse, 13th Oct; Cambridge Blue Moon (acoustic set), 17th Nov.   Keep up with them on: Facebook - Twitter

Photo credit: War Waves live at Ipswich Swan by Aaron Sly Photography.

[diamonddeposits]

Ipswich’s War Waves give us a guitar driven anthem Don’t Self Destruct-an emotive banger that brings together a solid noughties spirited melody and poetic vocals. The track is part of last year’s LP titled All That We Lack that you can grab via their Bandcamp! Check it out!

[falloutbradreviews]

Album Review by Bradley Christensen War Waves – All That We Lack Record Label: Backwater Records Release Date: October 7 2016

Having a diverse music taste is pretty cool; you can ask just about anyone that listens to a lot of music, myself included, but don’t get the impression that I literally listen to everything that exists. I might listen to a lot of music, ranging from nu-metal, hip-hop, deathcore, indie-pop, R&B, and many more genres, but there are certain genres I don’t listen to, or that I never have listened to. That can be just merely because I’ve never given it a fair shake, or I just don’t really like it that much. Most genres of music I’ll definitely listen to, even if I listen to it once in a while. There are genres of metal that I don’t listen to a lot of, or even listen to that often, mainly progressive metal. I have a love / hate relationship with prog-metal, and it’s mainly that I’m very torn on how to feel about most albums that I listen to in that vein. On the one hand, I really like the technicality and impressive musicianship that these bands have; if you’re a musician yourself, or you really enjoy technical and well-thought out compositions, you’ll get a kick out of prog-metal, but the main problem I have with is that it, well, meanders too much. A lot of prog-metal bands know how to play their instruments, but they don’t know how to write a fluid, flowing, and interesting song. There’s a difference that a lot of people don’t realize; you can be great as playing instruments, or a certain kind of music, but you need to be able to make a flowing, concise, and cohesive song from it. Most of these bands just show how great they are as musicians, but that doesn’t translate well into making a coherent song that people can listen to over and over again. Like I said, I can appreciate that artistry, and technicality behind all of it, but there’s a line where it becomes too meandering, boring, and arrogant, for the lack of a better word. It’s not even that I don’t like it, it’s just not typically my thing. There are a handful of other genres that I feel this way about, and one of them is “emo.”

I’m not talking about bands like My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, or whatever other bands that you think are emo, but I’m talking about like 80s / 90s emo, and the “emo revival” that’s been going on. Bands like American Football, Empire Empire I Was a Lonely Estate, or The Hotelier, just to name a few. These are the emo bands I’m talking about, but I’ve never gotten into that kind of music before. It’s not even that I don’t like it, it’s just not my thing, whether it’s from how morose or sad a lot of the instrumentation and overall tones can be (that’s the point, though), how whiny and high-pitched a lot of the vocalists are, or how pretentious and thinly written the lyrics can be, it just never really did a number on me. The only real “emo” record that I really like is Brand New’s The Devil And God Are Raging, but that’s Brand New. Like I said, though, I’m always willing to give something a chance, even if it’s from a genre that I don’t typically listen to, whether it’s one I’m not familiar with, or just don’t listen to that often, because for all I know, I might find an exception in a genre that otherwise has never clicked with me. That’s what I thought when I got the sophomore LP, All That We Lack, from English emo / indie band War Waves. About a month ago, the band themselves contacted me on Twitter to promote and review the lead single from the LP, “Horses,” but unfortunately, I never got around to it. The band’s label (thanks, Backwater Records, for hooking me up with a copy of the album, I really appreciate it) sent me an advanced copy of the album to review it, and although I’m not a huge fan of this kind of music, the band and their label listing Brand New in their “RIYL” section had my curious. The album doesn’t come out for a few months, but I thought I’d give it some listens, and see if the album does anything for me. If it doesn’t, no harm, no foul, because at the very least, I’m sure it’ll be a pleasant listen, as most emo / post-punk is, but if I like it, well, that’s another exception I can add to the list.

After giving All That We Lack a handful of listens over this past week, I’m falling somewhere in the middle here. I don’t really love this album, but I’m kind of into it, though. It’s a solid LP, and for emo fans, I’d totally recommend it. The band’s RIYL also says they sound like The Cure and The Smiths, and I can totally hear that. They have a very “retro” sound, definitely channeling 80s post-punk, indie, and what would become emo, but it’s got a modern spin on it, so I can get into it. If anything, I love the band’s sound on this record. I don’t usually like a lot of music like this, because it’s not either not very hook-heavy, or it’s just plain boring. I like a lot of music that doesn’t focus on hooks, especially a lot of extreme metal, but that has energy. I can forgive something that doesn’t have anything really catchy or “immediate” if it has a sense of energy. Most emo doesn’t, unfortunately. Like I said earlier, that’s the point, it’s not supposed to be super energetic, but it’s also supposed to have a pulse. It’s supposed to grab you in some way, and maybe I’m just not sad enough, but emo hardly does that. This album somewhat grabs me, and it’s definitely with its sound. There’s a sense of energy throughout most of this album, especially on a song like “Horses.” It’s not immediately catchy, or hook-heavy, but it’s got a sense of energy to it that I really like.

As much as I like the sound, the one problem that I have with this album might be with the vocals, but here’s the thing – they aren’t bad. The vocals are pleasant, they’re solid for what they are, but I’ve said in a few reviews that sometimes vocalists just do nothing for me. That’s a personal preference, and certain kinds of vocalists tend to get under my skin more, especially whiny, and high-pitched ones, which is what most emo falls into. That’s not to say that vocals are bad here, but they don’t really do a lot for me. Take that with a grain of salt, though, because that’s just a personal thing. Not counting that, I can totally recommend this record. All That We Lack is a very quiet, sedated, retro, interesting, and somehow energetic record that is both quiet and chaotic at all once. It’s got a lot going on, and they showcase their influences pretty well, but never succumbing to wearing them blatantly on their sleeves. I’ll admit that the vocals don’t do much for me, and that’s what keeps me from really getting into it, but I enjoy the album all the same. It’s an album that emo fans might really like. Even indie fans might enjoy this album. It’s got a lot going for it, and it’s worth a listen. These guys are pretty unknown, but we should change that. Definitely listen to these guys if you enjoy emo, indie, or even 80s post-punk. They have a lot going for them, and I’m happy that I gave this a listen. Sure, it’s not my album of the year, but to be fair, a lot of great albums have come out, so it’s a really tight race right now. Even so, War Waves are really good, and this album definitely shows that. I apologize to the band for getting around to listening to “Horses” sooner, but I’m happy that I got to listen to the full album. It comes out a few months, but check out “Horses,” and if you like that, pre-order the album itself. Note: This review was originally posted in August, and the album is in stores / online now, so definitely pick it up.

[ultrablissfulnoise]

War Waves - All That we Lack (backwater records/ Integrity Publishing) Suffolk Indie rock band War Waves has made a unique success with the radio airplay from the BBC Introducing to the indie kingpin presenter Steve Lamaq of BBC 6 music. The Band have Made a Return with there second album All That We Lack on Backwater Records and this time with Integrity Publishing (a close associate of Integrity Records: Million Dead, Miss Black America, Reuben). This is where the band left off with there last album released back in May 2015 with more progression with the music range of Influences such as Big Star, Matthew Sweet, Weezer, The Smiths, The Replacements, R.E.M, The Cure, Fugazi, Cursive, Knapsack, Low, Teenage Fanclub, Pavement, Sunny Day Real Estate and Empire! Empire! (I Was A Lonely Estate) and also with more emotive towards the song writing structure of front man Marc Newby. The album has brought the next step toward the band’s career and This is Defiantly The Next level of War Waves. Words by Matt Catling

[falloutbradreviews]

Album Review by Bradley Christensen War Waves – All That We Lack Record Label: Backwater Records Release Date: October 7 2016

Having a diverse music taste is pretty cool; you can ask just about anyone that listens to a lot of music, myself included, but don’t get the impression that I literally listen to everything that exists. I might listen to a lot of music, ranging from nu-metal, hip-hop, deathcore, indie-pop, R&B, and many more genres, but there are certain genres I don’t listen to, or that I never have listened to. That can be just merely because I’ve never given it a fair shake, or I just don’t really like it that much. Most genres of music I’ll definitely listen to, even if I listen to it once in a while. There are genres of metal that I don’t listen to a lot of, or even listen to that often, mainly progressive metal. I have a love / hate relationship with prog-metal, and it’s mainly that I’m very torn on how to feel about most albums that I listen to in that vein. On the one hand, I really like the technicality and impressive musicianship that these bands have; if you’re a musician yourself, or you really enjoy technical and well-thought out compositions, you’ll get a kick out of prog-metal, but the main problem I have with is that it, well, meanders too much. A lot of prog-metal bands know how to play their instruments, but they don’t know how to write a fluid, flowing, and interesting song. There’s a difference that a lot of people don’t realize; you can be great as playing instruments, or a certain kind of music, but you need to be able to make a flowing, concise, and cohesive song from it. Most of these bands just show how great they are as musicians, but that doesn’t translate well into making a coherent song that people can listen to over and over again. Like I said, I can appreciate that artistry, and technicality behind all of it, but there’s a line where it becomes too meandering, boring, and arrogant, for the lack of a better word. It’s not even that I don’t like it, it’s just not typically my thing. There are a handful of other genres that I feel this way about, and one of them is “emo.”

I’m not talking about bands like My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, Fall Out Boy, or whatever other bands that you think are emo, but I’m talking about like 80s / 90s emo, and the “emo revival” that’s been going on. Bands like American Football, Empire Empire I Was a Lonely Estate, or The Hotelier, just to name a few. These are the emo bands I’m talking about, but I’ve never gotten into that kind of music before. It’s not even that I don’t like it, it’s just not my thing, whether it’s from how morose or sad a lot of the instrumentation and overall tones can be (that’s the point, though), how whiny and high-pitched a lot of the vocalists are, or how pretentious and thinly written the lyrics can be, it just never really did a number on me. The only real “emo” record that I really like is Brand New’s The Devil And God Are Raging, but that’s Brand New. Like I said, though, I’m always willing to give something a chance, even if it’s from a genre that I don’t typically listen to, whether it’s one I’m not familiar with, or just don’t listen to that often, because for all I know, I might find an exception in a genre that otherwise has never clicked with me. That’s what I thought when I got the sophomore LP, All That We Lack, from English emo / indie band War Waves. About a month ago, the band themselves contacted me on Twitter to promote and review the lead single from the LP, “Horses,” but unfortunately, I never got around to it. The band’s label (thanks, Backwater Records, for hooking me up with a copy of the album, I really appreciate it) sent me an advanced copy of the album to review it, and although I’m not a huge fan of this kind of music, the band and their label listing Brand New in their “RIYL” section had my curious. The album doesn’t come out for a few months, but I thought I’d give it some listens, and see if the album does anything for me. If it doesn’t, no harm, no foul, because at the very least, I’m sure it’ll be a pleasant listen, as most emo / post-punk is, but if I like it, well, that’s another exception I can add to the list.

After giving All That We Lack a handful of listens over this past week, I’m falling somewhere in the middle here. I don’t really love this album, but I’m kind of into it, though. It’s a solid LP, and for emo fans, I’d totally recommend it. The band’s RIYL also says they sound like The Cure and The Smiths, and I can totally hear that. They have a very “retro” sound, definitely channeling 80s post-punk, indie, and what would become emo, but it’s got a modern spin on it, so I can get into it. If anything, I love the band’s sound on this record. I don’t usually like a lot of music like this, because it’s not either not very hook-heavy, or it’s just plain boring. I like a lot of music that doesn’t focus on hooks, especially a lot of extreme metal, but that has energy. I can forgive something that doesn’t have anything really catchy or “immediate” if it has a sense of energy. Most emo doesn’t, unfortunately. Like I said earlier, that’s the point, it’s not supposed to be super energetic, but it’s also supposed to have a pulse. It’s supposed to grab you in some way, and maybe I’m just not sad enough, but emo hardly does that. This album somewhat grabs me, and it’s definitely with its sound. There’s a sense of energy throughout most of this album, especially on a song like “Horses.” It’s not immediately catchy, or hook-heavy, but it’s got a sense of energy to it that I really like.

As much as I like the sound, the one problem that I have with this album might be with the vocals, but here’s the thing – they aren’t bad. The vocals are pleasant, they’re solid for what they are, but I’ve said in a few reviews that sometimes vocalists just do nothing for me. That’s a personal preference, and certain kinds of vocalists tend to get under my skin more, especially whiny, and high-pitched ones, which is what most emo falls into. That’s not to say that vocals are bad here, but they don’t really do a lot for me. Take that with a grain of salt, though, because that’s just a personal thing. Not counting that, I can totally recommend this record. All That We Lack is a very quiet, sedated, retro, interesting, and somehow energetic record that is both quiet and chaotic at all once. It’s got a lot going on, and they showcase their influences pretty well, but never succumbing to wearing them blatantly on their sleeves. I’ll admit that the vocals don’t do much for me, and that’s what keeps me from really getting into it, but I enjoy the album all the same. It’s an album that emo fans might really like. Even indie fans might enjoy this album. It’s got a lot going for it, and it’s worth a listen. These guys are pretty unknown, but we should change that. Definitely listen to these guys if you enjoy emo, indie, or even 80s post-punk. They have a lot going for them, and I’m happy that I gave this a listen. Sure, it’s not my album of the year, but to be fair, a lot of great albums have come out, so it’s a really tight race right now. Even so, War Waves are really good, and this album definitely shows that. I apologize to the band for getting around to listening to “Horses” sooner, but I’m happy that I got to listen to the full album. It comes out a few months, but check out “Horses,” and if you like that, pre-order the album itself.

[diamonddeposits]

A guitar ballad that is rife with emotion found plenty in both the vocals and in the sumptuous melodies. Horses packs a punch and is pulled from Ipswich based quartet War Waves’ (Marc Newby, Andrew Girling, David Booty and James Booty) upcoming LP All That We Lack slated for an October release. Check the track out above and grab the single via their Bandcamp right here!

[gigsatthejohnpeelcentre-blog]

Spectres and War Waves rocked our Friday night, we won’t mind if they want to come again!

Psst... You can find more pictures on our instagram @johnpeelcentre 

Photography by Nigel Farrow

[owlnoiseproductions-blog]

Review: War Waves (2015)

by Forrest Culotta (6/8/15)

It’s been a good year for the so-called “emo revival”. At one end of the spectrum we’ve seen new indie outfits like Runaway Brother and The Hotelier channeling the spirit of Max Bemis on their heart-on-your-sleeve debuts; on the other side of things, established emo rockers like Taking Back Sunday and The Used are now ditching major labels like Warner Brothers, who were piling the last bit of dirt on top of a dead and buried scene, in favor of smaller labels like Hopeless Records, who are committed to digging them out.

In keeping with the true nature of any alternative scene, denying the existence of the scene itself is a large part of the whole thing. After all, the first qualification of being a hipster is denying that you are one. Taking Back Sunday frontman Adam Lazzara described the idea of an emo-revival as “ridiculous” in an MTV interview earlier this year; but then there are bands like Canterbury’s Moose Blood, who couldn’t be happier to be leading the charge of emo’s resurrection. “Emo is a club”, they proudly boast on their social media pages, and if this is so, then the UK emo-revivalists have found another member to pin with this badge of honor in their fellow British rockers War Waves, who released their self-titled debut this past May.

Hailing from Ipswich, UK, War Waves are, whether they know it or not — or even like it or not, the embodiment of this kiss of life into what is in danger of becoming an almost exclusively cult scene. Songwriter Marc Newby checks off all the essential proverbial boxes on the admittance form of Moose Blood’s club:

Apologetic songs veiled by angst and fear, self-deprecating metaphors (file under: Brand New), in-song references to their favorite bands (in one of the album’s highlights, Shortstop, Newby reflects, “And I was singing Gaslight far too loud”), and perhaps the most important requirement of all: a deep-seeded appreciation for Morrissey, which bleeds through the band’s songwriting from the first line of the record (“Young cunts with their conversations, keeping me uptight with skinny clothes. I’ll be fucked if you’re becoming one of those.”) to the last. Making your influences well-known from the get-go has always been a staple of emo music, whether by name-dropping New Found Glory or by making your song title a paragraph-long excerpt from Nick Hornby’s novel High Fidelity, and War Waves are no exception. It’s the double edged sword that makes the genre appear derivative to outsiders, while culturally literate to members of the club.

Much like Moose Blood’s I’ll Keep You In Mind, From Time to Time, Newby seems to have written this album for one person in particular. It’s a personal letter to someone that we’ve been given the privilege to read. At times the record feels like an attack, and at others, an apology; in all likelihood, he isn’t quite sure which it is himself; yet, the best art is often born of conflicted feelings, rather than certainty. It’s a brave thing to paint one’s self honestly, as he sings in the album’s closing track Megamouth, “I’ve devalued countless girls and I’ll do it again”; knowing what you are and knowing that you can’t change it is a dark prospect, but this isn’t 5 Seconds of Summer, and happy endings aren’t always in the cards. This is what the genre needs: a bit of honesty floating in a sea of ghost-written, bastardized summer soundtracks.

From a production standpoint, War Waves’ debut falls in line with their contemporaries’ recent efforts. It’s not particularly polished, yet it doesn’t need to be, and might even benefit from being a little rough around the edges. There is a fine line between rejecting a pop sound in favor of maintaining artistic integrity and shooting for a sound appropriate to your station, and if War Waves has a DIY vibe to their sound, this is likely just indicative of where bands of the genre are coming from these days. The age of Fueled by Ramen sending Pete Wentz to pluck bands from the garage and boost them to instant stardom is long past. War Waves are self-made, and this is hopefully just the beginning, and a promising one at that.

Whether or not Moose Blood and company can actually save emo, if you count yourself a member of the club, you cannot afford to miss War Waves self-titled debut. Whether they consider themselves part of the emo revival, all the staples are present: crashing guitar crescendos that don’t sound like they’ve been multi-tracked to death, homages to bands you may or may not have heard of, and a personal touch that is both sad yet uplifting at the same time. In Megamouth, Newby asks, “Don’t you think that its more about progress than settling in?”  War Waves feel like they’re settling in just fine, which is a sort of progress in itself if it means helping keep alive such a well-loved genre. At the height of its popularity, emo was a predominantly American phenomenon; yet this time around, at least for War Waves, its “Jude Law and a Semester at Home”.

Score: 8.5/10

Favorite Track: Shortstop

War Waves is available on iTunes and at www.backwaterrecords.com