THE WAEVE
The Waeve (Transgressive)
With decades’ worth of musical accomplishments in their respective rear-view mirrors, Blur’s guitar icon Graham Coxon and Rose Elinor Dougall, formerly of The Pipettes, join forces to nudge each other into a fresh musical dimension. Littered with saxophone hooks, whirling string sections and deep synths, The Waeve feels like a movie soundtrack in disguise.
As The Waeve, Coxon/Dougall partnership manages to ease you into what you think you’ve heard before from them, before flipping the script at a moment’s notice and transporting you somewhere completely new and unexpected. Berlin-era David Bowie haunts the inspired opener Can I Call You, and Someone Up There is industrial Krautrock at its driving best. The Blur-esque Kill Me Again is an album high point, as is the hauntingly stunning All Along. Despite its lack of a real standout single, the album as a whole should leave you eagerly anticipating where the duo will take The Waeve next.
words ELLIOT OAKLEY
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