Last week, the annual music festival of South-by-Southwest concluded in Austin, Texas, and with it came a bold performance from indie-garage rock act Meat Wave. The group has recently been touring in support of their new album, which released just a little earlier this year. With this latest performance, Meat Wave will no doubt be exposed to a wealth of new eyes and ears, with their latest album receiving what, in my opinion, will be the most attention out of any of their previous works.
The new album, “The Incessant,” follow’s 2015’s “Delusion Moon,” which is the most well received of their works and set the tone for just what brand of rock the band has to offer. “The Incessant” stays true to the tone set thus far, building on the band’s current sound with a collection of similar works and a narrowed down aesthetic and genre.
Meat Wave is quite similar to many other bands in the garage rock scene right now, and likely isn’t really attempting to shake anything up. What the band does well is take the sounds of their influences and combine them into something new and refined that, while perhaps lacking a touch of originality, has a strong appeal to fans of the genre seeking new additions. The band’s setup seems to be fairly typical, combining aggressive vocals, standard high-intensity drumming and the tried-and-true fuzz pedal distortion to accompany the whole shebang. The most immediate comparison to be drawn is to that of Cymbals Eat Guitars; the whole shtick comes off as similar enough that it wouldn’t be entirely unfair to say that Meat Wave’s style on this album is almost a rip-off of Cymbals Eat Guitars.
Regardless, the album has a quality all its own, even if it is just as an additional helping to the plentiful meal that is garage rock. “The Incessant” is full of life; unlike many other bands doing similar work, Meat Wave comes across as genuine in their display of emotion in their songs. The rage is both convincing and intoxicating, propelling each track forward with the same adamant force that refuses to dwell on the past. This is not a flat album; it’s one with highs and lows in all the right places, an exciting ride on a roller coaster of intense drum builds followed by powerful guitar riffs that drop in with a mouthwatering level of attack. The vocals are impassioned and loud, just as garage rock should be.
That said, “The Incessant” does have its shortcomings. For one thing, the mastering could use some work; the vocals and guitar have been compressed in such a way that they sound almost as if they’ve been recorded live, and not in a good way. It’s not a major issue, but it does cheapen the experience slightly. Furthermore, the balancing of the levels of the instruments lacks just that: balance. The drums are too overwhelming for most tracks, and the guitar is often hard to pick out. The result is that in some sections, all the parts just meld into one fuzzy roar instead of a distinct song. This sounds more dramatic than intended, but the point is that the production work on this album is amateur. Perhaps this will be a positive feature for some; for others, it may be much the opposite.
That being said, “The Incessant” serves as a solid addition to the Meat Wave catalog and to indie-garage rock as a whole. It is recommended for fans of bands like Cymbals Eat Guitars and METZ. “The Incessant” is an angry, energetic, distortion-laden work of art, and it demands to be heard.
