Album Review: WAAX – Big Grief
In 2013, a group of high school and university friends from Brisbane formed a band. Last Friday, that band released their highly anticipated debut album Big Grief. Described by lead-singer and frontwoman Maz DeVita as “a mixture of post-punk and alternative rock”, WAAX are the latest in a long list of nationally beloved Brisbane rock bands. Their debut album not only lives up to their own standards, but also the standards of the Brisbane rock scene.
As a debut album, Big Grief does a great job at establishing everything that WAAX is about. A hard but varied sound, deep and emotional lyrics, and a powerful frontwoman. Putting their best feet forward, the first half of the album is a full throttle thrill ride. Opening track “Big Grief” doesn’t take its time exploring some of WAAX’s darker themes. Lines like “I can't believe I'm in a world that likes to burn and spit you out like coal” and the chorus “I got a big grief pouring out of me, some days it’s not so easy,” are accompanied by fuzzy guitars and heavy drums. The title track only just scraps the surface of the anxiety, mania, insecurity and frustrated grief that DeVita pours into the album. The lead singer exposes herself completely on the album, both lyrically and musically. On the tracks “Labrador” and “No Apology”, she is able to draw the listener in with soft and emotive verses before exploding in the chorus. Her voice soars up high with the prowess of musically gifted vocalist while cracking, breaking and straining with the raw power of a rock singer. She puts everything into her songs, giving a bare and naked performance, exemplified on “FU”, which features the best line of the album, “nobody hurts me so fuck you for trying.” The opening four tracks are wild, perfectly summarising the band’s punk sound.
From here, the album crucially displays WAAX’s range. While “Labrador” and “FU” use colourful and lively melodies to brighten DeVita’s dark themes, there are some tracks that take away the fun and excitement in exchange for emotional resonance. Tracks “Changing Face” and “Last Week” are slow and downbeat, utilising soft guitars and gentle reverb effects to explore love and pain. The best of these is Big Grief’s hidden gem, “History”. The track begins quiet, with a clean guitar melody and relaxed vocals. However, it builds, going through a punky section full of loathing and apathy until the cathartic climax where DeVita leaves the audience with her heart and her rage. Other tracks play on this more guttural, grungy tone, drawing out the listeners’ angst and attitude. “Why” and “Fade” maintain the aggressive rock sound but play with some darker tonality, highlighting the band’s post-punk influences. Closing track “I.D.K.W.I.F.L” combines the sad and the grunge, delivering DeVita’s ode to personal inspiration Nick Cave. The biggest strength of the album is WAAX’s ability to deliver a deep exploration of very real and relatable issues while maintaining a wild and energetic sound. The opening tracks show this, but also songs like “Little Things” and certified hit “I Am”, on which WAAX use bright pop sentimentalities in conjunction with their fast rock instrumentation to create vibrant music.
WAAX’s debut album has delivered on everything a good debut punk album should. It is loud, energetic and unapologetic, showcasing Maz DeVita’s songwriting ability, the band’s musical talent, and WAAX’s eclectic range of rock influences.
Listen to Big Grief here: https://waax.lnk.to/BigGrief
