WavvesHideaway

A decade ago, Wavves, the recording project of Nathan Williams, was a critical darling, celebrated for his bad-boy indie skate-punk antics and cheery California garage-pop. It secured him a major-label deal with Warner Bros. and a series of lo-fi, surfy LPs, before he eventually parted ways with the record company. Now, 11 years after breaking with indie Fat Possum, Wavves returns to form: Hideaway is peppy pop-punk rock ’n’ roll across nine tracks, a robust 29 minutes. It is no doubt Williams’ most varied album, a triumph of newfound eclecticism. Opener “Thru Hell” plays out like mid-career Green Day; the title track is a high-energy garage-pop pub song in the making; “Help Is on the Way” showcases Wavves’ rare optimist surf-punk; “Sinking Feeling” is almost an art experiment, hazy guitars embodying the sensation of depression; “The Blame” is honky-tonk outlaw punk; closer “Caviar” is a psychedelic, twangy ballad free of any romance. Produced by TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek, Hideaway is the best-case scenario for what happens when a preternatural garage-punk kid grows up and goes back to their roots.