John's Track of the Week: "California Goths"

Song: California Goths

Artist: Wavves

Album: Wavvves

Year: 2009

It's always tough to pick the best track off of a very complete album, so how does one approach Wavves' Wavvves? You skirt around the issue and just pick a track that you enjoy that hasn't been talked about ad nauseam. And that's how we've arrived at "California Goths". Though the internet has been aflutter about Wavves all year, I just felt like this was the best option of the moment, and was a bit less talked about (though not necessarily avoided) than some others. This many months after the albums' release, I'm still seemingly mesmerized by how this album (and this song) kicks so much ass.

On Wavvves, it's hard to escape the lo-fi buzz and static that Nathan Williams creates to counter his surf rock landscape. The crackling, effects and basic muzzle he adds to his voice are something to be embraced, amidst the sometimes-ghostly texture of each track. Out of all of the songs though, I think that "California Goths" is the noisiest, and most powerful. From the beginning, you're inundated with grinding, pulsing bass and enough fuzz to send you spiraling out of control. It's a chaotic and ferocious mess, and that's what makes it so notable. For the few who may not already have, check it out below.